Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 417 Taking the Opportunity to Advertise (Second Update)
Of course, many politicians will also be involved, because companies like GM, Ford, and Chrysler are not only related to local employment and tax revenue, but also have politicians who support them.

Politicians need funds to promote and package themselves.

So where does the funding come from?

Of course, the so-called donations are actually just money used to support politicians, who then cheer on the businesses.

Otherwise, in 40 years, the tax revenue share of large enterprises will decrease from one-third to one-tenth.

Imagine how many Fortune 500 companies and multi-trillion-dollar companies Aramco will have in 40 years, but what about tax revenue?
It's not that these politicians are just returning the favor by coming up with policies that allow these companies to evade taxes.

Of course, in this timeline, Ame wouldn't be as powerful as she was in the original history.

In 1981, Fat Bear was the number one on Earth, and Amei was number two.

The fact that America united with the rest of Europe to fight against the bear demonstrates the bear's power.

During this period, the fat bear was fighting against the America everywhere in Africa, the Middle East, and South America.

If Wall Street is targeting Amazon's domestic car companies, then they need to find a pretext, a target.

BMW came knocking on our door, and although BMW itself is quite famous, Wall Street gave it a push.

The next day, many newspapers featured BMW, and J.D. Automotive Inspection Company also became famous. J.D. took the opportunity to expose the direct injection technology problem in the engine of Chrysler's new luxury car.

Chrysler's stock price plummeted.

Ford and General Motors are no exception.

The newspapers focused on BMW and how a new Eastern company could achieve a 30% thermal efficiency in its mass-produced engines.

Ford and GM's mass-produced engines still have a 20% octane rating, with the highest being no more than 25%.

Although the media did not explicitly state what problems Ford and GM had, what will the public think?
Is our large corporation, Aramco, inferior to a new car brand?
Of course not, these large companies did it on purpose.

They banded together to monopolize the technology, preventing the public from getting better engines.

Then the newspapers reported on the problems plaguing large corporations, which angered many of the laid-off auto workers.

The automotive industry in America suffered from both the financial crisis and the impact of Toyota, resulting in many auto workers losing their jobs.

Of course, frontline workers will be the first to lose their jobs, while administrative staff will definitely not be among the first to lose their jobs.

This sparked protests from many unemployed auto workers.

Of course, it would be untrue to say that these unemployed auto workers had no one supporting them.

The vast majority of workers at Ame are controlled by Mafia families, and the union has become a hereditary business for these families.

Moreover, the union needs to make a name for itself recently because many workers have lost their jobs and have no income. If the union doesn't make a name for itself, how can those workers believe it?

In fact, every strike by Aramco workers involves many transactions; some are aimed at manipulating stock prices, while others are driven by partisan politics.

It seems like workers' wages have increased, but prices have risen afterwards, with rent, utilities, taxes, and insurance all going up.

The financial crisis had already caused a decline in Aramco's industrial operating rate, so unemployment was to be expected.

Boeing, Ford, and GM have been constantly hyping up the threat from Yusun, but the Aramco government has remained silent.

Because the Aramco government's biggest enemy right now is the bear.

Moreover, Wall Street took full advantage of Li Song's numerous interviews and provocations, and some politicians on Wall Street also supported him.

Those politicians make huge profits through legal stock trading or investment; that's legal...

This is why Wall Street's influence is growing, because it's not easy for real businesses to give away money.

It's so easy for financial companies to give away money. Once the investment comes in, they can easily manipulate the market and drive up the price, making politicians a fortune.

Of course, later on, Amei stopped pretending. In the past, politicians would invest and so on, but he did it all himself. He made billions with one policy today and billions with another policy tomorrow, bringing a whole bunch of people with him to make money and get rich.

Although this person sometimes goes back on their word, just ask yourself, did they make a profit?

Of course, this set a bad precedent, and it's likely that future Amerindian leaders will follow suit.

This has a significant impact on businesses in the United States, because the instability and discontinuity of policies will prevent many companies from implementing their plans.

For real economy enterprises to thrive in the long run, stable and continuous policies are essential.

Of course, in Aramco, it is ultimately the taxpayers who pay the bill.

Li Song also saw what was happening on Ah Mei's side while he was in Hong Kong Island.

Li Song called Tian Jiahui directly: "Old Tian, ​​contact Europe and America, we can start advertising for BMW cars."

"Okay, boss!" Tian Jiahui had already prepared the advertisement, but the boss hadn't allowed it to be promoted.

Tian Jiahui could understand, because BMW's production capacity was insufficient, so it was fine not to advertise.

The boss must have his reasons for asking us to promote this.

Tian Jiahui then instructed Parkson's London branch to begin advertising.

Parkson's London branch is primarily responsible for European and North American affairs, and is currently mainly preparing for the acquisition of the Land Rover and Jaguar brands.

Li Song didn't plan to promote it so early because of insufficient production capacity.

But now that such a good opportunity has arisen and public opinion has already taken hold, we should seize the moment to promote it, as this will have a much stronger effect than before.

"It's not that I intentionally used scarcity marketing," Li Song thought to himself.

In fact, Li Song could price the BMW minivan the same as other minivans.

However, this does not fit Li Song's strategy, because BMW has no reputation. Even if he is a celebrity, if no one uses it, where will the reputation come from?

If a new brand and an established brand are priced the same, which one will most customers choose?
Of course, it's the established brand; everyone knows its pros and cons. No matter how much a new brand advertises, who knows how reliable it is? After all, this is about buying a car, not a bag of snacks.

Even buying a bag of snacks that doesn't taste good can make you feel uncomfortable, let alone a car that you use every day. If it's not working properly, you'll be annoyed every day.

Therefore, Li Song directly lowered the price to a level that other brands could not achieve.

In fact, many of BMW's technologies are industry-leading, so why didn't Li Song promote them?

Even if it were publicized, those arrogant Westerners wouldn't believe it; they might even laugh at it.

After all, in the eyes of these Westerners, Easterners still have long whips.

But now that Western professional companies have provided the data, and they're promoting it themselves, wouldn't the effect be much better?

Parkson had a good relationship with London, which was when Li Song received the customization request for several private jets from Bedooch Company in Hong Kong.

The BBC then began airing BMW advertisements.

A TV commercial featured a seven-seater white van carrying a family and their pet.

Then, in large letters: BMW, the family's car.

Then a BMW van drove past a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, followed by an advertising slogan: "BMW cars, consistent safety, just like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, all models come standard with dual airbags."

The airbag was first invented in 1953. In the 70s and 80s, General Motors and Ford began to test its installation on vehicles, and it was equipped on some models, mostly high-end luxury vehicles.

In 1980, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class came standard with dual airbags, and in the late 90s, Amerinda required all new cars to have dual airbags.

At this time, only the Mercedes-Benz S-Class had dual airbags.

Li Song not only applied for front dual airbags, but also side airbags and other safety features.

Then in the commercial, a BMW drives past a gas station with a large sign indicating that gas prices have risen.

At this point, the advertisement features another line of large text: BMW, providing technical services to customers, hot-cast aluminum alloy engine, 30% thermal efficiency, the world's first mass-produced model, lighter and more fuel-efficient.

Then the BMW arrived home, and the two elderly people, wife, children, and pets all got out.

I opened the trunk and took out a lot of things. Of course, there are also places to put things in the side door.

The family entered the house, and the car was parked on the side of the road with the words "BMW, safely home!" displayed in large letters.
The reason it's parked on the roadside, not in a garage, is because people with independent garages are generally well-off and wouldn't buy this kind of van. Advertising should be more discreet.

The short 20-second advertisement connects several scenes.

It explained all the advantages of the BMW minivan.

Then BMW's advertisements began running in Europe and North America in a very short time.

Of course, the backgrounds and people in the advertisements are different in different places because of different cultural backgrounds.

Of course, another point is that many of the advertising companies that shoot commercials also have some connections with local television stations.

After all, we're all in the same industry. Although reshooting the ad will cost money, the results will definitely be better.

Because the public already knew some of the data about BMW cars, they immediately understood these advertisements.

BMW dealerships in many places have been bombarded with phone calls.

Unfortunately, there were no cars available. Apart from the demo cars, the dealers sold off the few remaining cars that arrived.

Then the distributor requested a restock, but unfortunately it was not possible to restock in a short time and it would take two months.

The main issue is that some manufacturers in BMW's supply chain have just learned the technology, while others are still learning.

The BMW factory also needs to provide training. The BMW factory mainly produces engine assemblies, car frames, and assemblies.

The main reason is that the training time at BMW's car factory is relatively long, and it is necessary to be able to trace the source.

Tracing the source is troublesome now because it requires handwriting, archiving, and backup.

Li Song knew that quality was everything, and that this also allowed him to manage the factory effectively.

Otherwise, if everyone rushes to do it, and things go wrong, you won't be able to find anyone to help.

Some state-owned enterprises have this problem: they rely on the fact that you can't fire them, so they do whatever they want, which leads to many factories producing defective products.

At that time, any industrial product, even if it had defects, could still be sold and was very popular, as there was a shortage of industrial products.

Because of this, some workers have become even more unscrupulous.

However, exports are different. If problems arise in exports, not only will there be trouble, but the impact on the brand will also be huge.

Li Song would rather have less production and slower capacity expansion than fail to provide training for those who fail the training and are sent back to their original unit or hometown.

Of course, Li Song was able to do this in China because of his status and his huge export volume. It's also because some people were dissatisfied with Li Song and complained about him behind his back, making all sorts of accusations.

After the BMW ad was released, it became an instant hit because it was full of highlights, and the key was the low price. The cheapest factory price was $9000, but it only sold for £6400 in London (the exchange rate in June was 1.9, which is about $12160). It included registration and taxes, as well as a three-year/60000-mile warranty, because Daihatsu sells for £8400 in London.

Even with shipping costs, the profit margin is so high that which distributor wouldn't be crazy about it?

With a price reduction of £2000, London dealerships were packed with people every day, all eager to experience the car. The dealerships even disassembled the car to show people the airbags, the all-aluminum engine, and more.

Seeing that so many people wanted to buy, but there was no stock, the distributor had no choice but to call Parkson and ask for an additional deposit, and then pay first and then receive the goods. However, Parkson refused.

Distributors are not allowed to fly to Hong Kong Island in person; they must ensure that they are among the first to receive the goods.

Because the exchange rate of the pound sterling has dropped from 2.6 at the beginning of the year to 1.9, this is why Li Song wants to price in US dollars.

The euro turned out to be a disaster; it depreciated by 30% in its second year after its introduction.

(End of this chapter)