How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 117 The Adjustment Period [10,000-word update, please subscribe]

“Actually, a 1:2 swap would also work, and the valuation would be reasonable, at least higher than what the investment bank offered.” Ren Quan was quite willing to facilitate the cooperation with Chengtian Entertainment.

This means that Kanpianer.com now has its own core cinema chain, so even if other companies enter the market to compete, it won't have to worry about losing its core user base.

“Let’s wait for news from the other side. Do you know any brands that have advertising budgets for exposure?” Wang Yao suddenly asked.

"Yes, what do you want to do?" Ren Quan asked.

"The first half of 'The Temptation' has passed the preliminary review, so the project can start. I need to find a few sponsors to spread the costs," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"The TV series hasn't even been filmed yet, and you're already looking for sponsors? Do you think you're selling pre-sale apartments?" Ren Quan rolled his eyes.

“Who says it can’t be done? We don’t need big clients with exclusive sponsorships. Smaller ones are fine too. Three or five hundred thousand is not too little, two or three million is not too much.” Wang Yao handed over the draft project proposal, which included the cast list of the TV series, a brief plot summary, and an estimated exposure for the future broadcast.

In 2010, advertising sponsors primarily calculated prices based on CPM (cost per mille) impressions.

A typical satellite TV channel's CPM is approximately 100-300 yuan per thousand views, and a 1% viewership rating is roughly equivalent to millions of impressions.

That means 70 episodes with around 2 million views and an average viewership rating of over 3%. If it can be aired on Hunan TV's prime time slot, it can basically exceed that viewership rating.

"The female lead is Qiu Cixuan, and the male lead is Ling Xiaosu. This cast is so-so. Do they really need a budget of 3000 million?" Ren Quan frowned.

I feel like if I were the male lead, the cast would be stronger than his.

“I personally selected this drama. How about your hot pot restaurant sponsors it?” Wang Yao said with a smile.

"How can a hot pot restaurant sponsor this?" Ren Quan was taken aback. "For filming and exposure?"

Product placement in film and television works began in the 1990s. The most famous examples are the placement of mineral water in Feng Xiaopao's "The Editorial Department" and the placement of cars in "Struggle".

However, due to the exposure methods and media reasons, the return on investment for this kind of soft product placement is not high, so most brands still prefer celebrity endorsements or exclusive sponsorships.

At this stage, it's a basic version of soft product placement. What Wang Yao needs to do is to use the combination of hit TV dramas and soft advertising on marketing accounts to bring real sales growth to the products being placed.

In urban dramas, the most likely categories for product placement to go viral are food, cosmetics, and clothing, followed by automobiles and home appliances, all of which are driven by the need for brand exposure. However, in reality, product placement in the catering industry can also be very effective.

Ren Quan admitted that the soft implantation was useless, but since Wang Yao had spoken up, he naturally wouldn't refuse his brother's request.

“Sure, Bingbing and I just opened a new store, it’s quite large, so I’ll sponsor you 100 million.” Ren Quan waved his hand.

"Don't worry, Mr. Ren, it's definitely worth more than you'd expect." Wang Yao smiled and handed over a contract.

"I don't understand why you're making movies and TV shows; the return on investment is really low," Ren Quan laughed.

"What I'm making isn't a film or television series, it's a model. You'll see when the time comes," Wang Yao said with a slight smile.

"Where are you going? Let's have dinner together tonight?" Ren Quan asked as he saw him about to leave.

"I've arranged to see the apartment with a real estate agent; it's for staff dormitories," Wang Yao waved his hand dismissively.

"What kind of employee is this? The boss is personally helping to watch over the dormitory?" Ren Quan muttered.

The branch office in Beijing will have many signed artists in the future, and Wang Yao plans to find a suitable residential area for easier management.

Ni Ni found a new residential community near HD outside the Third Ring Road through an agent. It was well-gated, with decent surrounding facilities, and most importantly, it was within a reasonable distance of Jingdian and Yonghe companies.

When Wang Yao arrived, Ni Ni and Gulnazar had already finished their tour and seemed quite satisfied.

Wang Yao then showed two different apartments, one 124 square meters and the other 164 square meters. The interior design was quite trendy, with features like floor-to-ceiling windows and electronic locks.

"What do you think?" Wang Yao asked, turning his head.

"It's much better than the dormitory in Shanghai," Ni Ni commented.

"I'm fine with anything." Naza blinked her big eyes, full of anticipation.

Although it's staff dormitory, it's better than her home, and it's her own private space, so of course she likes it.

"Don't worry, Mr. Wang. We wouldn't say our building is the best, but it's definitely in the top five. Plus, the price is very reasonable. Most importantly, it's extremely private. We have 24-hour infrared surveillance and manual patrols, so no unauthorized people can easily get in without the owner's permission," the agent said.

He immediately saw through the relationship between Wang Yao and the other two; they were probably rich second-generation heirs who had arranged for their families to stay, and their greatest concern was privacy.

"Is there an entire building like this?" Wang Yao asked.

The agent paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Wang Yao with suspicion before forcing a smile. "That's definitely not possible. Our development is almost sold out; what's left are mostly mid-floor units. If Mr. Wang wants a few more, we can offer a discount."

When encountering situations involving suspected major clients, it's no longer acceptable to misrepresent the advantages or disadvantages of different apartment types; instead, a more truthful approach with concessions must be taken.

The apartment complex consists of two units per floor, and Wang Yao ultimately chose a building with a good location: "Let's buy this fifth floor first."

"Are you sure it's these 5 floors?" The agent's eyes were red with excitement. Calculating it out, the average price was 35,000 yuan per square meter, and the total price would exceed 50 million yuan!
They're not a major client, but they're definitely a potential major client.

"Let's keep these five floors for now. By the way, we should be able to purchase the property under the company's name, right?" Wang Yao asked.

"Of course, no problem." The agent quickly called over the property manager to urge them to sign the contract.

In 2010, Beijing had not yet implemented purchase restrictions, but buying a house required a household registration or social security. The advantage of buying a house through a company was that it did not require social security or household registration restrictions to buy a large number of houses. The disadvantage was that it would have to pay 2-5% more tax every year, but compared to the 20% tax paid when transferring from a public company to a private company, it was basically negligible.

Furthermore, it can also offset some of the company's operating costs.

Wang Yao doesn't remember the turning point in the housing market, but there is absolutely no risk of losing money in this neighborhood at this price in the future.

Normally, buying a house in the name of a company requires full payment, but real estate agents always find a way to solve this. In the end, Wang Yao, in the name of Xinghuo Media, which he owned, paid a down payment of 1500 million yuan to buy these 10 houses on 5 floors as employee dormitories. Coincidentally, there was a 2000 million yuan publicity and promotion prepayment transferred from Fan Bingbing and Bo Na in the company account.

Wang Yao hired a dedicated finance team to serve the companies under his command, and naturally left the details to professionals to handle.

Nazha and Ni Ni naturally chose the same floor. Even before Wang Yao signed the contract, the two had already started discussing furniture arrangements.

"Don't think you two are living here for free; you still have to pay rent to the company," Wang Yao joked upon seeing this.

Although the property will appreciate in value, it's not a free employee benefit. The smaller one is 4000 per month, and the larger one is 7000 per month. You can share with colleagues or enjoy it all by yourself.

“No problem, I can’t afford to buy this house, but I can still afford to rent it,” Ni Ni said with a grin.

"Brother, I will work hard to earn money." Naza said earnestly.

"Which room are you staying in? We'll help you decorate," Ni Ni asked.

"I'll just stay downstairs from you guys, anyway, I don't live here often," Wang Yao waved his hand.

Living in the staff dormitory is too inconvenient, so he plans to save up some more money to buy the same model as Fan Bingbing.

The news that the company had dormitories spread like wildfire among Ni Ni that very night.

The next day, after being dragged around the staff dormitory by Ni Ni, Zhang Tianai immediately slept with her.

In this location, renting a room for only 2000 yuan is an absolute steal. The old, run-down apartment she's currently renting costs more than 2,000 yuan a month.

With Zhang Tianai joining, the two clothing managers were brought together. Wang Yao redesigned her account persona and asked her to continuously update fitness and sports-related materials. She and Nazha shared a team of operators to facilitate a unified photography style and copywriting.

Wang Yao personally led the female photographers he had recruited to instruct Zhang Tianai on her shooting style.

They rented a decent gym, and Zhang Tianai changed into his workout clothes, which drew gasps of amazement from Ni Ni and the others.

Zhang Tianai covered her face shyly.

Wang Yao frowned slightly. "Aren't you dieting a bit too much?"

Zhang Tianai was taken aback by the compliment. The joy and shyness she felt at being praised vanished instantly. She shook her head nervously and said, "It's alright. My diet is pretty normal."

Wang Yao's gaze swept over the slight gap between her arms and gluteal muscles. "You're a bit too thin. I'll have someone adjust your diet."

Although Zhang Tianai's current physique has obvious muscle definition, he is the kind of skinny type with a very low body fat percentage, which doesn't look healthy or strong. This type of physique is likely to arouse envy from other women, but it is also likely to arouse resistance.

"Ah? Okay." Zhang Tianai nodded timidly.

"It's okay, just exercise normally." Wang Yao smiled and nodded, then began discussing shooting issues with the female photographer.

"Wow, Mr. Yao has such high standards! Is there anything wrong with his physique?" Ni Ni looked at Zhang Tianai, who was warming up and stretching, with envy.

How does someone so thin still have a bust?
"It seems like my brother really doesn't like people who are too thin," Naza whispered.

"He probably doesn't like skinny guys. My goodness, this kind of curvy figure is already perfect. Tsk, look at that back," Ni Ni clicked her tongue.

“Sister Ni, you’re looking at a man right now.” Nazha hugged herself.

“I call this appreciation. Let’s go, let’s change our clothes and go hiking.” Ni Ni suddenly perked up. She had originally just wanted to watch, but she was provoked.

“We didn’t bring any clothes,” Naza asked, puzzled. “President Yao brought a whole bunch of sample garments. You’re going to be one of the most promising women’s clothing brand owners in the country. Are you worried about not having any clothes to wear?” Ni Ni chuckled.

When Nazha and Ni Ni arrived at the changing room, they looked at the brightly colored gym clothes scattered on the floor and suddenly didn't know where to start.

"Oh, I didn't expect that her outfit was actually the most conservative one," Ni Ni remarked.

"This feels even more exaggerated than my dance practice clothes." Naza blushed slightly as she held up a pair of gym shorts that looked almost like swim trunks.

"You really have to be very confident in your figure to wear this out," Ni Ni said, scratching her head.

"The label says over 500, that's so expensive," Naza exclaimed.

"Who would buy such expensive workout clothes?" Ni Ni wasn't very athletic and didn't understand the value of this kind of clothing that looked like thermal underwear.

"Of course not people like you who don't exercise." Wang Yao's voice suddenly appeared, startling the two of them into screaming together.

"Hey! This is the changing room!" Ni Ni exclaimed.

"You two didn't close the door again, it startled me." Wang Yao shrugged. "Don't underestimate these gym clothes, they're not cheap to make."

"But it shouldn't cost several hundred, right?" Ni Ni asked doubtfully.

“Sports are a characteristic of wealthy and leisurely people, so the more expensive the clothes are, the more valuable they will feel. You think we're selling clothes? We're selling the lifestyle behind the clothes.” Wang Yao smiled and handed a set he had put together to Zhang Tian’ai, who had followed behind him.

Zhang Tianai took it and found it was a yellow sports vest and shorts, with almost 70% of her skin exposed. For some reason, she felt even more embarrassed than when shooting an underwear advertisement.

It's a tracksuit, it's a tracksuit.

Zhang Tianai could only muster the courage to hypnotize herself.

"You two can try them on and see how they feel," Wang Yao said with a smile.

“You can try it. I’m filming yoga poses later, and you two can learn them. They’re very good for your health.” Zhang Tian’ai’s eyes lit up; she couldn’t wait for someone to accompany her.

"Mr. Yao, we need to change our clothes." Ni Ni said curiously, shooing Wang Yao away and locking the door.

Turning around, she exclaimed in surprise, "Wow? You're wearing a T-back? No wonder there are no marks."

"I did this for filming," Zhang Tianai quickly waved his hand, his face flushed.

Naza silently covered her cartoon boy shorts. "I think I'll pass. I've gained weight recently, and I'm afraid I'll overeat."

However, Ni Ni eventually forced him to change into another outfit.

Wang Yao saw the three of them come out hesitantly and was about to tell them to be more open and generous when suddenly the phone rang.

He told the female photographer to continue filming while he went to the side to answer a phone call. It was Jiang Yan calling, saying that the character outline for "Gang of People" was ready and she wanted Wang Yao to take a look and see if there were any problems.

Wang Yao gave her the address.

He turned around and began directing the filming.

"Exercise is a positive and energetic activity. How can you three be like quails? Stop posing and go run on the treadmill for ten minutes to work up a sweat."

Sure enough, after ten minutes of aerobic exercise, the three of them were in much better condition. They probably got used to the clothes, mainly Zhang Tianai, while the other two were just there to make up the numbers.

Today was mainly about getting the filming team in sync; there wasn't much of a theme. At first, they were hesitant because of their boss, Wang Yao, but after spending more time together, Zhang Tianai and the newly recruited female employees became much more comfortable.

After filming for a while, Wang Yao received a call from Jiang Yan and brought her in.

"Wow, this gym is really nice! Are you filming? Hope we're not disturbing you." Jiang Yan said with a sigh after entering the gym and looking around.

"It's the team's adjustment period," Wang Yao said with a smile.

Jiang Yan went over to greet Ni Ni and the others, and was quite embarrassed when she heard that Zhang Tianai was one of the people who had slipped through the net that day.

She was indeed unfamiliar with the details of the continuing education program, and unexpectedly, she actually missed one.

Wang Yao took her to the other side to look at the script.

"This is some white fungus soup that I made myself. I heard your throat wasn't feeling well the other day, so I prepared this for you since I'm coming to see you today." Jiang Yan smiled and took out a pink thermos from her bag. The paint was a bit chipped, so it looked like it had been around for a while.

"Huh? Maybe it's because the capital is too dry. I didn't even notice. I was just being thoughtful." Wang Yao was taken aback.

Jiang Yan opened the thermos and took out a small bowl to pour a cup. "It's okay. Actually, it's because of the heavy smog in Beijing and the low humidity. You've been in Shanghai for a long time, so you must feel uncomfortable for a while."

Wang Yao accepted the drink, thanked the maker, took a sip, and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Hmm, it's quite delicious."

"Hehe, I've been making soup since I was a child, and my biggest hobby is cooking. If Mr. Wang is craving Northeastern cuisine, you can make a reservation with me," Jiang Yan said with a sweet smile.

Wang Yao blinked, smiled, and nodded. "Okay."

No wonder she's an "auntie" type of celebrity; she already exudes a friendly, auntie vibe even before she's thirty.

Jiang Yan then took out two small bowls, poured the contents into them, and sent them to Ni Nina.

Wang Yao glanced at her and opened the character outline for "Playing with People" revised by Gao Yalin.

"Wow, Sister Yan, your cooking is really good! It tastes completely different from the white fungus soup in restaurants," Ni Ni exclaimed after taking a bite.

"Restaurant food is all pre-made, it's not necessarily been sitting out for days. Mine is freshly made." Jiang Yan smiled and tugged at Ni Ni's clothes. "This workout outfit is pretty good quality, what brand is it?"

"Sister Yan, do you work out?" Ni Ni asked.

“Of course, but I mainly do things like night runs, not much strength training,” Jiang Yan said with a smile.

“Come with me.” Ni Ni raised an eyebrow and pulled Jiang Yan into the changing room.

There are quite a few main characters in "Gangren", about 12 in total. After Wang Yao spent some time reading the character designs and biographies, he felt that it was not the work of one person, but probably the work of multiple screenwriters. However, the overall changes were in line with Chinese characters, and there was nothing particularly incongruous about them.

The biggest fear in adapting works is that the characters will feel out of place.

"Where's Jiang Yan?" Wang Yao glanced around and noticed that Nazha was carrying two empty bowls over.

"Sister Ni dragged me to try on clothes. Brother, do you have any roles suitable for me?" Nazha curiously leaned over to look at the script.

"No, sitcoms require more acting skills. Don't worry, I'm working on a script that suits you." Wang Yao poured another bowl of white fungus soup, and his throat did feel a bit better after drinking it.

A moment later, Ni Ni pulled Jiang Yan over excitedly. "President Yao, I think Sister Jiang Yan is also very suitable to endorse the sporty style. She has a super good figure."

Wang Yao looked at Jiang Yan, whose face was slightly flushed, and thought she seemed quite good. "Sure, if Miss Jiang is interested, you can give it a try. Our brand will need a lot of public figures to collaborate with in the future."

The fitness apparel category needs to be promoted to the market through extensive public exposure, because this style is currently considered private wear and is limited to sports scenarios. Wang Yao needs to find a way to make it a daily wear item, which requires exposure to a large number of people.

Because the main consumer group for this category in the future will be the early 'socialites' and 'urban beauties', who are the first to follow the trend.

"I don't have much experience shooting for magazines," Jiang Yan said, waving her hand.

"It's okay, just keep trying. There's nothing wrong with the character outline. Teacher Gao is a professional." Wang Yao handed her the outline.

"That's fine then. I'll send you the rest of the story once the previous episodes are released." Jiang Yan smiled upon hearing this, revealing dimples at the corners of her mouth.

Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly. Why make an in-person trip when you could simply upload the document online?

However, he didn't hesitate and nodded.

"Sister Yan, are you free later? Would you like to come and visit our dorm?" Ni Ni invited.

"The dormitory?" Jiang Yan was taken aback.

After listening to Ni Ni describe how Wang Yao spent a fortune to buy ten houses yesterday, she was completely stunned.

Previously, she had no concept of Wang Yao's material conditions and thought he was just an ordinary rich second generation.

This is a house in the capital!

"The formalities aren't finished yet. It will take at least a week to move in," Wang Yao said with a light laugh.

"The real estate agent told me that light renovations are no problem now," Ni Ni said with a smile.

Wang Yao was about to say something when he was interrupted by another phone call. He glanced at the number, walked to the side, and answered it.

"Mr. Wu, what's your decision?"

(End of this chapter)