I'm just trying to ride the wave of popularity!

Chapter 297 Madmen and Mad Companies!
As evening fell, the setting sun painted the sky red.

Liang Xiaogang walked out of the editing room of "The Banquet".

but……

When he returned to his office, he had just sat down and hadn't even had a sip of tea when the phone rang.

Immediately afterward, he answered the phone, and a moment later, his eyes widened in shock, and he almost dropped his phone!

"What did you say? Say it again?"

this moment!
His head was buzzing, and then he couldn't hear anything at all!

He then immediately turned on his computer.

At this moment.

The websites 【豌豆电影网】 and 【微博】 are buzzing, but it's mostly comments criticizing Zhou Yang for going crazy...

However, the moment he opened [QuickBlog] and [Movie Home], a shocking piece of news stunned him like a bomb!
He picked up his phone and made a call.

Is this news true or false?

The person on the other end of the phone seemed shocked as well, remaining silent for a long time. When Liang Xiaogang asked again, unsure, they finally replied with a complicated and uncertain tone, "I don't know..."

Liang Xiaogang made several phone calls in a row!
finally!
He heard concrete news!

But after hearing the confirmed news...

"boom!"

His mind went completely blank for a moment, as if struck by lightning, and he even began to doubt reality.

He turned on his computer with trembling hands and clicked on the official website of [Lingjiang Motorcycle].

At that moment, his pupils suddenly contracted!

Just now, at 5:28!
Lingjiang Motorcycle officially announced that it has signed a record-breaking 1 million yuan contract to be the exclusive motorcycle spokesperson for Zhou Yang's new film "Devil Knight", and attached photos of the signing ceremony!

"This is impossible, this is fucking impossible!"

"Are you crazy?"

"crazy!"

"impossible!"

He stared at the photo and the image repeatedly, and at one point even thought he was dreaming!
He kept refreshing the official website page, confirming it over and over again...

Once he was sure it wasn't a dream, he plopped down in a chair, completely questioning his life and feeling that all his previous understanding had been overturned in an instant!
Fuck!
A 100 million yuan endorsement fee!
It's just one movie, why are you treating it like a freebie?
He stared blankly at the ceiling, only one thought remaining in his mind!
Oh shit!

Is the world crazy, or is he himself crazy?
..........................................

"crazy!"

"Damn it, would any idiot really sign for 100 million?"

"Holy crap! This Lingjiang Motorcycle is a completely insane company!"

"A 100 million yuan endorsement fee? That's enough to make three movies!"

"The car companies must have been bewitched by Zhou Yang!"

"My God, I don't think I'm awake yet, what the hell... damn it!"

"Zhou Yang is treating advertising fees like a money-printing machine!"

"Is Mr. Zhou about to make history as the 'most expensive product placement in a movie' in the Guinness World Records?"

"..."

On the evening of March 16, a bombshell piece of news swept across the entire internet!
Lingjiang Motorcycles has signed a record-breaking 1 million RMB deal to become the motorcycle brand ambassador for Zhou Yang's new film "Devil Knight"!

The news caused an uproar online, starting with Kuaibo, then moving to Movie Home, then Weibo, and finally to various forums...

The related topic quickly rose to the top five trending topics, garnering over a million views.

In fact, it wasn't just Liang Xiaogang who thought it was crazy!

On the internet, countless netizens thought they were crazy when they saw this message!
I thought I was seeing things!

1 million RMB for an endorsement? This is unheard of before...

However, what's even more bizarre is the reverse operation by [Lingjiang Motorcycle].

This car company, which has been struggling with sluggish exports for years, surprisingly announced its cooperation amidst controversy after signing the contract, and made a bold statement: "Devil Knight will take domestically produced motorcycles to the world!"

Netizens discovered that the company's net profit last year was only 7000 million yuan, which immediately caused an uproar: "Betting the entire year's profit on Zhou Yang's one movie? This is either a huge profit or a huge loss!"

With [Lingjiang Motorcycle] suddenly becoming incredibly high-profile!

The media outlets went into a frenzy, flooding the news about Lingjiang Motorcycle Company and pushing the company into the spotlight overnight!
The front page of *Caijing Weekly* was emblazoned with the headline, "A 1 Million Yuan Gamble: A Dance Between a Mad Company and a Mad Director," with the article sharply pointing out that Lingjiang Motorcycle's annual profits were barely enough to cover endorsement fees, a move tantamount to "betting its life savings." Renowned financial commentator Wang Zhen, in his column, scathingly criticized: "This is the most insane marketing suicide in the history of Chinese business, bar none!"

Film Observer published a joint article by industry experts entitled "Beware of the Film Capital Bubble," which presented data comparisons showing that Zhou Yang's endorsement fee for a single film has exceeded one-tenth of the total box office revenue of domestic films last year, pointing out that "the entire industry is being held hostage by the illusion of box office revenue."

On social media, the hashtag #CrazyCompanies# has garnered 12 discussions. A moderator on a motorcycle forum posted screenshots of Lingjiang Motorcycle's financial reports for the past three years, with the caption "The chairman should get a brain CT scan."

A poll on [Movie House] showed that 83% of netizens believed that "this deal is destined to be a complete loss."

The heat, like a flame, was ignited instantly!
Ultimately, it swept across the entire internet and set the entire internet ablaze!
..........................................

Early morning on December 3th.

Zheng Minghui, chairman of Lingjiang Motorcycle, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, smoking a cigar.

The flashes of cameras from the media outside the window cast flickering light on his profile. He stared at the computer screen not far away.

On the computer screen, the hashtag #CrazyCompany# is popping up on the trending topics list several times per second!

This is unprecedented popularity for Lingjiang Motorcycles!

Just then, he turned around and handed the signed contract to the finance director who had just walked in, his expression complicated.

At this moment, the CFO's eyes were somewhat dazed and complicated.

One hundred million RMB!

I paid [XuanShi Entertainment] in full last night!
This is an unprecedented scene that has never happened before in the entire endorsement industry.

It was so crazy that it terrified her!
It's as if the whole world has gone mad!
"Cut the overseas business budget by 60%! Put all the remaining money into the development of the 'Dark Knight' co-branded model. I want to see the actual car before the movie is released!"

Seeing this, the CFO went completely blank, while Chen Jianghuan, the marketing manager beside him, began to tremble as he gripped the report: "Chairman Zheng, this is equivalent to..."

"Is it like betting your entire life savings on gambling?" Zheng Minghui narrowed his eyes.

The conference room suddenly fell silent!
At that moment, no one dared to say anything.

Zheng Minghui, however, looked into the distance and pointed to the numerous media outlets: "Last year, we spent 30 million on CCTV, and we didn't even hear a sound!"

"Now, all of China knows that there's a crazy company that's willing to bet 100 million on a single shot!"

Just then, a sound came from the doorway, and the secretary rushed in in a panic: "The board of directors just sent a joint letter requesting a suspension..."

Zheng Minghui shook his head: "Tell them, either fire me now, or wait until I put Lingjiang Motorcycle billboards in Hollywood! Contact Zhou Yang and tell him I want to add a scene to the movie—have the Devil Rider riding our motorcycle and crushing all the other motorcycle brands, including that damn Harley! If they agree to this shot, I'll add another ten million!"

Silence fell over the conference room once again, and everyone stared at Zheng Minghui.

Chen Jianghuan lowered his head...

Zhou Yang is a madman!

The chairman seems to have gone mad too!
................................................

The internet was buzzing in March!
Keywords such as "Zhou Yang," "Lingjiang Motorcycle," and "Devil Knight" remain popular on the internet!

and……

What drove countless Chinese filmmakers crazy was that the Chinese film market in March was both frenzied and abstract!
They seemed to have some difficulty understanding the movie!
Five tokusatsu films under [XuanShi Entertainment] have entered the market amidst controversy and raked in huge box office revenue!

What countless filmmakers could never have imagined was this!
"Racing Ultraman," a movie with such an abstract title that it seems like a cheap cash grab, has become an instant hit!
The film grossed over 8000 million RMB in its opening week, with an occupancy rate consistently above 90%. Not only children enjoy watching it, but even some adults do!
They never dreamed that "Ultraman Racing" would become the top choice for parents to take their children for a second viewing, thanks to its original transformation system and exciting storyline.

The protagonist's unique "Dragon Soul Transformation Gesture" in the film even went viral, sparking a wave of imitations!

The other four abstract films were heavily criticized by film critics—"Bao Gong's Night Trial of Ultraman" was criticized for "desecrating traditional culture," and "Calabash Brothers Save Grandpa" was condemned as "spiritual pollution," etc.
However, these films, thanks to the curiosity they evoked, all broke the 3000 million yuan box office mark. Among them, "Dark Lord Ultraman" attracted teenagers with its dark revenge plot, and its daily box office even bucked the trend, breaking 4200 million yuan, second only to "Racing Ultraman"!
In fact, it's not just the viewers who are driven by curiosity; Zhou Yang's fan base is also fervent and loyal, spending lavishly to support their idol.

Whether it's "Bao Gong's Night Trial of Ultraman" or "Racing Ultraman," fans flocked to the theaters, some even watching it two or three times.

On social media, fans posted photos of their ticket stubs, organized private screenings, and hailed the abstract plot as a "masterpiece."

Despite critics' harsh criticism of these films for being poorly made, fans have shown their support with real money, causing box office revenue to soar and creating the bizarre phenomenon of "the more they are criticized, the more popular they become."

In March, [Xuanshi Entertainment] was slaughtering the Chinese film industry, and even more dramatically, [Lingjiang Motorcycle] was experiencing a capital surge.

After announcing a record-breaking 1 million yuan endorsement deal, its stock price plummeted 18% on the first day, and was ridiculed by the media as "suicidal marketing."

But the situation reversed three days later. The hashtag #CrazyCompany# had a cross-platform effect, with brand searches surging by 500% and daily foot traffic at offline stores tripling.

Even more astonishingly, driven by the hype, Lingjiang Motorcycle's sales surged by an astonishing 110% year-on-year after the first week, directly boosting the stock price to a bottom and causing it to hit the daily limit for three consecutive days!
And it was at the end of March!

Other motorcycle companies that were originally sitting down!

Suddenly I realized something was wrong!

....................................

"This is a textbook example of event marketing!"

"The internet age has arrived faster than we imagined! Traditional advertising channels may really be becoming ineffective!"

"The surge in motorcycle sales is essentially due to Lingjiang Motorcycle leveraging the explosive public opinion surrounding Zhou Yang's film IP to transform a sky-high endorsement fee into a phenomenal marketing event. Through multiple factors such as trending topics, fan economy, and anticipation of co-branded products, the company achieved a breakthrough in both brand awareness and sales in a short period of time!"

"Damn it, we're only just realizing it!"

"..."

3 month 25 day.

【Flying Jazz Motorcycles】

in the office.

As the sales of competitor Lingjiang Motorcycle increased, Liu Meng, the marketing manager of Feijue Motorcycle, who was slow to realize the situation, suddenly changed his expression!

Just at this time……

He received a phone call!
"What? What did you say? The Hollywood movie 'Twilight' will have its world premiere in April?"

"Zhou Yang issued a statement saying..."

"say what!"

"During the global premiere of 'Twilight,' Lingjiang Motorcycles will be the exclusive global vehicle brand to appear in Hollywood, replacing the original Harley-Davidson motorcycles!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)