How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 154 Isn't this storm coming a little too fast?
Mouth substitution is a form of emotional compensation.

Because they are in a repressed state of 'wanting to express but being unable to,' many unspoken words turn into repressed negative emotions that accumulate in their hearts. The act of speaking on behalf of others essentially provides an outlet for these emotions on behalf of the person in question.

It's like a mirror, reflecting the unspoken words in one's heart and conveying them to the target audience. This feeling of 'my heart being accurately responded to' makes Liu Yifei enjoy listening to Wang Yao speak.

“If Xixi had half of Mr. Wang’s ambition, I, as her mother, wouldn’t be so worried. I heard your mother is in the clothing business?” Liu Xiaoli chimed in.

"Yeah, I was originally running a processing factory to earn some hard-earned money, but since my e-commerce business was doing pretty well, I started two clothing brands. Now I'm so busy every day that I'm constantly dragged down by them," Wang Yao sighed.

"Mr. Wang is such a filial son. It's something many parents dream of to be able to support their children. Doesn't your mother feel tired?" Liu Xiaoli said, somewhat moved.

Liu Yifei looked at her own mother, then at Wang Yao.

What are you babbling about? Let's get down to business.

"First of all, thank you Mr. Wang for taking care of our Xixi last night. This child doesn't like socializing and isn't good at talking. I'm always worried about her when she participates in activities," Chen Yun said with a smile.

"It's nothing. I was just worried that associating with me would cause Miss Liu some gossip," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"It's a negative impact when it comes to other people, but it's a positive one when it comes to President Wang. The entertainment industry is complicated, and Qianqian is kind-hearted and easily deceived. President Wang is an outsider and wouldn't use us to do things that harm others for his own benefit." Chen Yun's words were loaded with meaning.

"Besides, Xixi is almost 24. It's a good thing that there are some news about her love life. It saves people from saying that she's being kept by a sugar daddy," Liu Xiaoli said seriously.

Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly, surprised that the other party would chat like this.

"Being kept is nothing, people even suspect I'm a lesbian," Liu Yifei said dismissively.

"Don't talk nonsense, you child." Liu Xiaoli glared at her daughter, then turned to Wang Yao and smiled, "President Wang, please don't take offense, she's just straightforward and outspoken."

"That's a good kind of frankness, so does that mean you don't need to worry about the rumors?" Wang Yao laughed.

“We don’t care. If Mr. Wang feels it’s not good, we are naturally willing to step forward and cooperate to clarify,” Liu Xiaoli said.

"What do you think, Miss Liu?" Wang Yao asked Liu Yifei.

Liu Yifei blinked, seemingly surprised that Wang Yao would ask for her opinion, and shrugged, "Of course I don't care, anyway, if I don't pass it on to you, I'll pass it on to someone else."

"Then let nature take its course," Wang Yao nodded.

"I heard that President Wang is cooperating with Fan Bingbing?" Chen Yun said, getting to the point after seeing that the Liu mother and daughter had finished their conversation.

“Yes, there is a cooperation agreement for now.” Wang Yao nodded.

“I was wondering why her reputation had suddenly improved so much in the last two months. It turns out that Mr. Wang was behind it all.” Chen Yun praised her first, then changed the subject, “But Mr. Wang may not know her very well, so there are certain risks involved in cooperating with her.”

“I’ve heard Sister Hua mention it,” Wang Yao nodded.

Chen Yun was stunned. She had heard that Wang Yao and Wang Jinhua might have some connection, but she didn't expect them to be so close.

"That's good. Although I'm not sure what kind of cooperation Mr. Wang is having with her, I hope it won't get too complicated," Chen Yun said with a smile.

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Chen. However, I prefer to stick to the facts. Once we decide to cooperate, I will do my best to consider the client's interests. After all, we are in the service industry, and reputation is very important." Wang Yao's smile was gloomy.

“President Wang’s professionalism is beyond doubt and he has an excellent reputation in the industry. That’s why I hope to represent WMA Company and reach a long-term cooperation with President Wang this time,” Chen Yun said with a smile.

"WMA mainly deals with international business, right? It doesn't seem to have much domestic business?" Wang Yao asked.

WMA is a century-old Hollywood company that has become the world's largest talent agency after restructuring last year. However, its business in China does not seem to focus on talent management, but rather on brand placement. It previously helped several domestic brands place their products in "Transformers" with considerable success, and is currently one of the main channels for domestic brands to leverage international influence.

"That's right. Previously, the China branch was mainly used to accumulate resources. After the success of the 'director + lead actor + brand placement' model for 'Transformers 2' last year, we attracted many brand sponsors in China for 'Transformers 3' this year, such as Changxiang and Yili."

"Furthermore, we've secured the rights to several of Liu Yifei and Zhang Ziyi's films this year, selling their global distribution rights. Therefore, we hope to leverage our domestic influence to drive overseas sales, and then use that overseas influence to boost domestic sales," Chen Yun said in a deep voice.

First, sell domestically and then export to gain fame, and then export and sell domestically to make a profit?
This company seems to have a good understanding of Chinese consumers.

Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly. "What are Mr. Chen's needs?"

"Originally, we only wanted to collaborate with Mr. Wang on publicity and distribution, but now that we've learned that Mr. Wang has also made achievements in e-commerce, and after reviewing Xingdian's service projects, we'd like to ask if we could add a 'sales' component to our company's 'director + actor + product placement' model?" Chen Yun asked seriously.

Chen Yun must have done a lot of evaluation of the Xingdian model overnight, and knows that Xingdian's agency operation business can actually boost sales.

If possible, WMA will realize a world-first 'full industry chain value mining' model, no longer just a simple entertainment brokerage agency.

"Actually, we've already been testing this approach of using product placement combined with e-commerce platforms to drive sales, and we've already seen some positive results," Wang Yao said with a smile, pulling out a data sheet from "Campus Belle" to explain.

After listening attentively, Chen Yun's eyes lit up.

This is the ideal final solution for their company!

Advertising and brand marketing are indeed very profitable, but the competition is equally fierce, and as artists' endorsement fees become increasingly expensive, the profits of agencies like these are being further squeezed.

However, if brand promotion can also drive sales, or even generate considerable sales volume, then the bargaining power and premium will be further enhanced.

"WMA currently possesses a large number of top-tier artists and athletes globally, especially in the United States. These individuals have significant influence, and the e-commerce industry in the US is also developing rapidly. My idea is..."
"I'm helping Mr. Wang recruit some international brands, such as P&G and Unilever, to handle their operations. These collaborations need to be conducted under our company's name. Of course, the profit margins are negotiable, or we could form a new joint venture focused on brand promotion and e-commerce," Chen Yun suggested.

Backed by WMA, she has collaborated with almost all major international brands, most of which have a presence in China, especially in the beauty and daily necessities industry. If she can integrate these international brands from brand promotion to sales, she can essentially monetize her 'ineffective resources'.

For her, whether it's artists or brand resources, it's just a matter of building a bridge. Wang Yao is in charge of the actual delivery work. Even if the commission is less, she can still earn money passively. More importantly, she can ensure that the brand clients she currently serves will not be lost.

This can be considered a kind of 'mediator empowerment' mindset.

Wang Yao frowned and pondered for a moment. In fact, Facebook had already tested the product sales function on the platform last month. Merchants could add the 'shop' tag to the content and upload products, and recommend them to friends through the Like sharing function to complete the social e-commerce model among acquaintances.

However, payment and delivery still rely on third-party e-commerce platforms such as Amazon/EB, which is essentially a traffic redirection. The sales logic is the same as Mulan Street, but the sales performance is probably not very good, otherwise Facebook would have released news about it long ago.

The model is fine, but the objective conditions are not yet matched.

The same applies in China. It will take a long time for the general public to become familiar with e-commerce, since the most important function, online payment, has not yet been implemented. Therefore, Wang Yao never thought that content-driven sales would have a very direct effect in the early stages.

However, accumulating users is necessary for Mulan Street, and the entry of international brands is definitely a plus. Moreover, WMA's business model is actually somewhat similar to his.

Using soft advertising, brand promotion, and live-streaming sales, it wouldn't be good if they figured it out themselves.

“I will seriously consider Mr. Chen’s suggestion. I do hope to connect with some international brand management services. This is the cooperation agreement for our major clients. Mr. Chen can take it back and take a look, and then we can discuss it further.” Wang Yao handed over a folder.

Chen Yun took the document and smiled, "Don't worry, Mr. Wang, we've completed the research as quickly as possible. Also, regarding artist promotion, Zhang Ziyi was set up at the beginning of the year, so the company's original plan for her this year was to lie low for a while until the storm passed."
But I'd like to ask Mr. Wang on her behalf if there are any other solutions. After all, the entertainment industry is unpredictable, and audiences are fickle.
Even someone of Zhang Ziyi's stature would be significantly affected by a year-long break, let alone with Fan Bingbing lurking in the shadows. Zhang Ziyi has been plagued by negative news since the beginning of the year, from the ink-splashing incident to being labeled a mistress and then to donations—a series of events that almost took her down.

Both netizens and people in the industry have been discussing her experiences this year. Some think she was set up and had to make way for someone else, while others believe she got involved with the wrong man and was therefore warned.

Regardless, Zhang Ziyi is indeed not suitable to appear in the public eye this year. In fact, the role in "Snow Secret" was originally intended for her, but was urgently replaced by Li Bingbing after these negative news reports.

“I’m not very familiar with Miss Zhang’s situation, but it seems quite complicated. If Mr. Chen asks me if there’s any way to overturn the case, I’m afraid I can’t help you. However, I do have a few good suggestions for lying low,” Wang Yao said with a light laugh.

"Please give me your guidance, Mr. Wang," Chen Yun nodded.

"Of the three matters, apart from the donation, the other two are matters of private morality and are not serious. Since Ms. Zhang herself does not follow the traditional pure and innocent route, we only need to focus on resolving the donation controversy."

"With the current popularity of 'Shiba' magazine, it's hard to guarantee that her past won't be brought up again and rehashed. After all, three months have passed and she still hasn't offered an explanation, so this is the most urgent matter," Wang Yao said seriously.

"President Wang has reminded us that we do need to give a public response." Chen Yun's expression was somewhat strange.

He secretly cursed Zhang Ziyi for speaking recklessly in order to show off, saying that a problem that could be solved with a few hundred thousand dollars had to be solved with millions of dollars.

"Secondly, there's the issue of rebuilding our public image. I also think we shouldn't appear too frequently in the public media for now, and we should wait until the public sentiment has calmed down before making any moves. However, we could consider doing some positive things abroad in advance, and then bring them back to China to promote and turn around our reputation when the time is right at the end of the year or next year," Wang Yao continued.

"Positive things?" Chen Yun muttered to this unfamiliar term.

"It's about doing things that resonate with or are praised by most people. Public welfare is a form of positive energy. Isn't she filming 'The Grandmaster'? Tai Chi martial arts are excellent subjects for cultural export."
"We could create a program specifically on foreign platforms like YouTube, using a street interview format similar to 'Campus Belle,' where we perform martial arts at landmarks or locations abroad, such as Times Square or Lincoln Park, and randomly interview foreigners about their views on Chinese culture, using it as a promotional gimmick," Wang Yao explained.

“She still has some popularity overseas, and it’s easy for people to find out about her, right?” Chen Yun thought the idea was good, but it would be hard to keep a low profile.

"Just wear a mask, Hanfu, Nuo mask, you can practice Tai Chi or dance classical dance." Wang Yao smiled.

"President Wang is truly talented. If you manipulate the data, it will become a great topic for low-key external publicity in six months. I feel this is much faster than making a movie for cultural export." Chen Yun's face lit up with joy upon hearing this.

Cultural export is something everyone hopes for.

“I think this is really positive, and our Xixi can do something similar too,” Liu Xiaoli suddenly interjected.

"Miss Liu, your schedule must be quite full this year, right?" Wang Yao smiled.

He knows of at least two movies that are going to be filmed, released, and promoted.

"Yes, yes, the schedule is still quite full," Liu Yifei nodded in agreement.

"What are you complaining about? Teacher Gu can manage four movies a year, and you're so young," Liu Xiaoli scolded.

Liu Yifei pursed her lips and stopped talking.

“President Wang, I’ve always wanted her to take an internationally strong and independent route, but it seems to have encountered some obstacles both domestically and internationally. Now I’d like to adjust the direction. I don’t want her to be too outstanding, just to expand her fan base and increase her popularity with the general public,” Liu Xiaoli said.

In her early days, Liu Yifei was in a state of "false popularity," which is what is known as a "resource-backed star." Although her acting skills were passable, her early career path was too high-end, and her resources and abilities could not match, so she was in a very awkward position.

Liu Yifei has a lot of male fans. As we all know, female celebrities with a lot of male fans usually have an unstable fan base. This is because most male fans are either fans of romance or fans of physical appearance. They don't have a sense of identification with the female artist as a 'life goal/idol/support', and naturally they won't spend too much money or energy to support her in rankings or data collection.

Male fans who follow celebrities tend to be overly controlling, like father figures. They only offer objective guidance and disapprove of their favorite female celebrities acting with male stars. The cost of unfollowing them is extremely low. The only advantage is that once news about them breaks, the discussion level is very high.

This indirectly leads to a poor public image and makes it easy for female celebrities to start conflicts. There was a rumor in the fan community at the time that if a female celebrity received widespread praise on Tieba (a popular online forum), her career path would definitely be very bumpy.

The only exception is the male fans of Korean girl groups, who definitely belong to the other extreme.

On the contrary, female fans are often either "mommy fans" or "slave fans," willing to silently dedicate their energy and money to their idols. That's why Liu Yifei took on many romance dramas and even tried large-scale artistic dramas later on, all in an effort to win over male fans.

Another reason is that female fans have a lot of time and energy to devote to this kind of 'spiritual pursuit' because, relatively speaking, they have greater spiritual needs and a single emotional anchor. Secondly, most female fans who follow celebrities are well-off and experience less social pressure.

Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to grow a four-leaf clover that can rival XO.

“Just do more positive things and then expose them at the right time. If President Chen and President Liu need it, we can cooperate in this area, but basically these are all projects without returns. I may also have to charge some production costs.” Wang Yao smiled.

“Of course.” Chen Yun nodded in understanding.

This kind of persona packaging is part of the artist's cost.

"We've finished talking, so we won't take up any more of Mr. Wang's time. Let's go back and discuss it further, and visit again another day." Liu Xiaoli noticed that Wang Yao kept checking the time.

"Alright, since we're all in Shanghai anyway, you're welcome to come visit anytime." Wang Yao didn't stand on ceremony and got up to see his guest off.

"This Mr. Wang is not very old, but he has a very steady and reliable work style, and he doesn't have many hidden agendas," Liu Xiaoli commented after getting into the car.

“Maybe they’re younger and have had an easier time, and besides, they’re in the e-commerce industry, so they’re probably more focused on efficiency.” Chen Yun nodded.

"Xixi, how do you feel about your relationship with him?" Liu Xiaoli turned and asked.

"That's good." Liu Yifei thought about it seriously for a moment.

"I hope to make more friends with someone like Mr. Wang when I have time in the future," Liu Xiaoli said with a smile.

"Okay." Liu Yifei nodded.

"However, he did remind us that we must be more cautious about making donations in the future. The internet responds too quickly now, and public figures must keep their word." Chen Yun frowned and gave a word of advice before turning to call Zhang Ziyi to discuss solutions.

Zhang Ziyi was somewhat disdainful after hearing this. "President Chen, it's all in the past. Wouldn't it be asking for trouble if we brought it up again? With so many fresh news stories every day, netizens have long forgotten about my matter. You don't need to believe everything you hear. As for that foreign program, we can consider it."

Chen Yun thought about it and felt that what Zhang Ziyi said made sense. Those few things were actually a trap set for Zhang, and Zhang had already backed down, so it should be considered a thing of the past.

But to his surprise, he received a call from Zhang Ziyi's agent before he even got back to the company.

"President Chen, people are bringing up Ziyi's donation again."

Chen Yun was startled and quickly opened the news, only to find that it wasn't just Zhang Ziyi's case that was being brought up; many other celebrities who had previously been involved in related news, such as Fan Bingbing, Cheng Long, Zhao Benshan, and Yang Lan, were also being dug up again.

Mr. Wang's prediction was really accurate.

It's like a storm is brewing!

But didn't this storm come a little too fast?
(End of this chapter)