How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 188 Exorbitant Sponsorship
The story of Tian Ji's horse race is well-known and familiar to every household in China.

For those with a deep and calculating mind, these ancient philosophical wisdoms will be repeatedly studied and then applied to real life.

Especially in the business world.

One sentence is so concise that it's almost impossible not to break it down into eight parts for interpretation.

Wang Yao presented three variety shows and outlined their respective advantages and disadvantages.

However, Yu Dong heard another layer of meaning.

It appears to be a selection process, but in reality, it's a screening process.

The three options—top, middle, and bottom—may determine the future cooperation model with Wang Yao.

Yu Dong is not a gambler, but he is a person who is very determined once he has made up his mind. He also has a unique understanding of this kind of thing. Otherwise, he would not have caught Han Sanping's eye and founded the first private film distribution company in China.

He got to where he is today by simply saying four words: cater to people's tastes.

Knowing that he had missed the best period of profit from cooperating with Wang Yao, and that it would likely require a large cost to make up for it later, he was now convinced of Wang Yao's abilities. As long as he didn't lose money, any cost would be worthwhile.

Therefore, he naturally wanted to choose a cooperation method that could demonstrate his stance.

Fully launched.

Upon hearing this, even Zhang Chaoyang raised an eyebrow and gave him a second look.

This shows a willingness to bet heavily, regardless of the cost.

"What does Mr. Yu mean?" Wang Yao asked again to confirm.

"Good projects don't wait for anyone. Bernard has already missed one opportunity; we can't afford to miss a second. Otherwise, people will laugh at me, Yu Dong, for being blind to talent." Yu Dong chuckled.

"Since Mr. Wang proposed three variety shows, whether it's a small investment with high returns or a high return with high risks, because we have faith in Mr. Wang, we at Berna will accept them all."

"President Yu certainly has a grand vision. The budget for what President Wang calls a 'small production' is probably no less than that of a movie," Zhang Chaoyang said with a smile.

"Mr. Zhang is right. Variety shows are not like movies. Movies can be made with a few million less, and you can even make ten times the profit, but the upper limit is high. It is common for special effects movies to cost billions of dollars."

"But variety show investments are relatively stable, generally between 15 million and 30 million yuan, unless there are a few special outdoor types or high guest costs. The three shows I have are all fairly standard, but combined, they probably have an investment cost of nearly 100 million yuan," Wang Yao explained with a smile.

This is the price this year. Next year, with the explosive growth of capital in the entertainment industry, actors' salaries will skyrocket, and the cost of variety shows will at least triple.

"Money is not a problem," Yu Dong said with a smile and a wave of his hand.

Zhang Chaoyang glanced at him sideways. "Is it appropriate for you to say that?"

"The premise of cooperation is trust. Because we trust President Wang, there is no need to consider the cost. Let's just do it." Yu Dong said with a smile, flattering Wang Yao.

"I'm truly flattered," Wang Yao said with a smile. "Since President Yu trusts me so much, I'll certainly do my best. How about we package the three together into one project?"

"No problem." Yu Dong smiled.

"The travel variety show can be launched within a month at the earliest, and the other two will be within two months. We use a filming and broadcasting mode to make it easy to adjust the program based on audience feedback. Generally, our company's cooperation model is 1000 million for a 5% share," Wang Yao said with a smile.

Upon hearing the price, Yu Dong's smile froze for a moment.

A 10 million investment only gets you a 5% cut? Your variety show is even more shady than our movie investments.

But on second thought, if these three are comparable to one "Fairy Robe", it's not a bad deal. And the production cycle is really fast, with a minimum of two months to go online. Basically, you can see its potential after the first two episodes.

These variety show projects generate revenue much faster than movies.

“It’s not cheap.” Zhang Chaoyang thought for a moment after hearing this. “Since President Yu is so supportive, I won’t take what he wants. I’ll just take the online broadcasting rights and not participate in the project.”

Although Sohu is not short of money, he has some doubts about the return on investment. It means that no matter how much is invested, at least 2 million yuan in profit is needed to break even, which is a higher threshold than that of a movie.

“The online rights definitely won’t be sold in advance. Mr. Zhang can only get the first-run online broadcasting rights, which will be renewed every year. I’ll give you a package deal of three parts at a friendly price of ten million,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

"This is blatant robbery?! I could buy the 10-year online version of 'Huanben' for ten million!" Zhang Chaoyang exclaimed.

"I can't get it. I spent 3000 million to buy the 10-year online version of 'Huanben'. Hunan TV is too greedy," Wang Yao sighed.

"Huh? You've already bought it? Tsk, I'm a step behind again. But you're not much better than Hunan TV, at least they sold a pre-existing copyright. We don't even know the ratings for yours yet," Zhang Chaoyang said unhappily.

He wasn't worried about his copyright being stolen; on the contrary, he was quite happy, which means he's not alone on this path in the copyright industry.

"Mr. Zhang, it's only at a friendly package price because things are still uncertain. If it really becomes a huge hit like 'Fairy Robe,' one copy could cost ten million," Yu Dong said with a smile.

He was very satisfied with the offer. Even the first round of online broadcasts was sold for this price. Even if the later programs were bad, he could still recover a lot of costs by selling them to local TV stations in the second or third round.

"Mr. Yu, your change of status is quite rapid. Ten million it is, I'll skip a few meals for you." Zhang Chaoyang smiled.

"Then I'll have someone send the project proposal and the draft list to General Manager Yu when I get back," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"No problem, Berna's box office success will still rely heavily on the help of President Wang and President Ren," Yu Dong said with a smile.

If the variety show business is successful, then Berna will have another revenue stream, and as long as it is profitable, it can basically make up for the losses incurred in Meishe's investment.

After we finished discussing the serious matters, it was time to listen to Zhang Chaoyang brag. Although there was more fluff than substance, we could still glean some valuable information from him.

For example, Zhou Hongyi recently privately negotiated with Ma Huateng about security issues, the final stage of Le's IPO, but because most of the valuable copyrights on the market have been bought by Wang Yao, he is preparing to communicate with Wang Yao, and so on.

They then talked about the college entrance exam and the World Cup, which are of global interest, and finally, in a drunken rage, he berated his former subordinates for their lack of ethics.

After the drinking party ended, Wang Yao returned to his dormitory in Beijing. Although he hadn't drunk any alcohol, he still felt quite uncomfortable after inhaling secondhand smoke all night. He took a shower and was a little hungry, so he decided to go downstairs to eat some street-side fried noodles.

The food at Zhang Chaoyang's shop is quite delicious, but it's definitely not filling.

"Mr. Wang? You're back in Beijing?" Jiang Yan's surprised voice came as the elevator doors opened.

"Oh? You're back so late?" Wang Yao looked Jiang Yan up and down and smiled.

Although she wasn't an employee of Xinghuo, she had a good relationship with Ni Nina and Nazha, and since Nazha was often away from Beijing, the dormitory was temporarily lent to her.

"You finished work early today. Are you going out to buy something so late?" Jiang Yan asked, noticing that he was wearing pajamas.

"I'm hungry, let's go stir-fry some noodles," Wang Yao said with a smile.

“There have been a lot of news reports about gutter oil lately, and roadside stalls are unhygienic. Let me cook it for you. I just bought a lot of instant noodles,” Jiang Yan said with a smile.

“Okay.” Wang Yao nodded and followed her upstairs.

It wasn't until she opened the door that Jiang Yan realized that it might be inappropriate for a man and a woman to be alone together so late at night.

Wang Yao didn't pay any attention and walked in on his own.

"You sit and watch TV for a while, I'll be right back." Jiang Yan hurriedly found slippers for Wang Yao, then went to prepare the meal.

Wang Yao took a look around. He had only been to this house once before, when Nazha and the others were clamoring for a housewarming party. Back then, it was quiet and deserted, but now it was completely filled with the unique atmosphere of a young girl's life.

Turning to look at Jiang Yan, who was busily preparing food in the kitchen, a warm feeling welled up inside me.

"How's the filming of 'Playing the Fool' going?" Wang Yao asked casually as he sat down at the dining table. "It's going great. Dan's mom said she hasn't filmed such a well-funded production in a long time, and she wants to find an opportunity to thank President Wang for his generous sponsorship," Jiang Yan replied with a smile.

The filming of "Gangren" has been underway for half a month. Wang Yao specially invited the original creative team from Korea to serve as consultants. Apart from Song Dandan and Gao Yalin's people, the other actors are all from the new Mahua FunAge cast, all of whom are experienced stage actors, so their collaboration should be very smooth.

“Perfect timing. Ask her if she can squeeze out half a month of her schedule recently. I have a variety show that I want her to participate in,” Wang Yao said.

Although Song Dandan is a comedy queen, she has an old-fashioned personality and a tendency to be a know-it-all, earning her the nickname "evil mother-in-law" in variety shows. She is the kind of persona that audiences dislike. She not only likes to use her seniority to suppress people, but also likes to act as a patriarch to discipline others. Her favorite thing is to play matchmaker and form cliques.

But it is precisely this kind of personality that generates discussion in variety shows, and the audience environment in 2010 actually preferred Song Dandan's 'patriarchal' persona.

Just like how everyone thought Huang Lei's character was good in the early days of "Back to Field", different eras have different character requirements. Wang Yao originally wanted to use Sister Ni as the leader of "Sisters Over Flowers", but then thought it was not appropriate.

During this period, she was overly concerned with maintaining an idol image and often acted pretentiously. It would have been better to use Song Dandan directly, even though the persona was not likable, she still had a large fan base.

"A variety show? Like 'Fairy Robe'? Danma will be so happy to hear that. When I watched the show before, I even said I wanted to give President Wang some advice. Middle-aged and elderly women also have the right to love beauty. When will you make a middle-aged version of 'Fairy Robe'?" Jiang Yan said with a smile.

"This is a good idea, especially for retired women who have both free time and money," Wang Yao said with a smile.

The Huaxia Aunties, this amazing group, are building the era of 'square dancing'. In a sense, the biggest topics and consumer spending over the past five years (10-15 years) have not come from young people, but from this group of Huaxia Aunties.

Jiang Yan worked quickly, and soon the aroma of instant noodles filled the air, following the Northeastern Chinese method of boiling first and then stir-frying.

"Stir-fried instant noodles with shredded potatoes? Your own recipe?" Wang Yao asked as she started cutting potatoes.

"No, I was worried that just eating fried noodles would be too dry, so I originally wanted to make steamed potatoes with dipping sauce, but I was afraid you wouldn't be able to wait, so I just stir-fried them for you," Jiang Yan replied casually.

"Stir-fried shredded vegetables for me? What a vulgar and offensive statement."

Wang Yao raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly.

"What are you laughing at? Don't you like shredded potatoes?" Jiang Yan turned around and looked at Wang Yao blankly.

"It's nothing, I'm just waiting for you to stir-fry the shredded vegetables for me." Wang Yao shook his head.

In less than ten minutes, the steaming hot fried noodles and stir-fried shredded potatoes were served.

"Not bad," Wang Yao praised after taking a bite.

"Hehe." Jiang Yan chuckled, got up to pour Wang Yao a glass of water, and watched him eat with gentle eyes, her eyes full of satisfaction.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Wang Yao glanced at her.

"I'm on a diet, how can I dare to eat a late-night snack?" Jiang Yan shook her head. "You eat slowly, I'm going for a night run. Just leave the dishes behind when you're done."

Wang Yao nodded, and Jiang Yan went back inside to change into her night running clothes before going out for exercise.

When I returned, the house was empty; the dishes and chopsticks had been washed and were set out on the island.

Jiang Yan leaned against the island platform, remained silent for a long time, then shook her head and sighed.

That's not appropriate.

For the three variety shows, "Sisters Over Flowers," "The Return of Superman," and "Dance for a Millennium," the Goryeo branch had already prepared the basic outlines for the first two, so the budget and costs were relatively clear.

"Superman": With a budget of 2500 million yuan and a broadcast period of 2 months, the program outline is to indirectly resonate with parents of toddlers by having celebrities breastfeed their children. The age of the cast ranges from 3 months of breastfeeding to 6 years old in the preschool stage. Through various issues of celebrity parents raising children, professional parenting experts will be invited to provide solutions for most viewers.

Initially planned guests: Breastfeeding group (Liang Luoshi, Zhang Baizhi, Xia Yu/Yuan Quan, Li Xiang/Wang Yuelun) The four families all have infants aged 3-6 months. The main highlights of the plot are the controversy surrounding single mothers raising children, wealthy families raising children, and the contrast between single-parent and two-parent families.

The preschool group (Lu Yi/Bao Lei, Sun Li/Huang Lei, Yuan Yongyi/Zhang Zhilin, Tian Liang/Ye Yiqian) focuses on the preschool education content for children aged 2-6. The key plot point is how different parental roles affect children's preschool education.

The main brands involved are maternal and infant products and learning machine brands. Wang Yao directly raised the sponsorship threshold to 3000 million yuan, with Bei Ying Mei as the target.

"Sisters Over Flowers": Budget 25 million. Airing within one month, filming and broadcasting simultaneously. The content mainly consists of female celebrities' 15-day trip to Hong Kong, including budget travel/special forces/nostalgia/Hong Kong film location scouting/cultural introductions.

Despite the short 15-day shooting period, the outdoor shooting required at least 60 staff members to work together every day, with security costs alone reaching at least 20 yuan per day. Therefore, although the shooting period was short, the cost was much higher.

The highlights of the plot are the interactions between female celebrities, budget travel and cost calculations, and the sentimental value of the camera work.

The initial proposed guests (Song Dandan, Zhang Baizhi, Lin Zhiling, Yang Ying, Gulnazar, Dilraba, Song Qian) are a group composed of four groups: the old guard from the mainland, native Hong Kongers, newcomers from the mainland, and natives from Taiwan. They will introduce Hong Kong from different perspectives.

The target sponsorship is well-funded beauty brands, shopping malls like K11, or internet platforms like Ctrip. Because it is a niche and precise topic, the sponsorship fee threshold will be higher.

"Dance for a Thousand Years": With a budget of 3000 million yuan and a duration of 2 months, this program was selected by Wang Yao after comparing and selecting from dance variety shows on the market and those he remembered. It is a promotional variety show that combines dance and culture.

Because "Dancing with the Stars" had already exhausted the hype surrounding celebrity dances, and Wang Yao was unwilling to spend a lot of money to invite so many celebrities, he simply opted for this 'purely for display and viewing' style.

Emphasis is placed on dance and culture, while celebrities are downplayed.

"Dance for a Thousand Years" is a 21-year program, spearheaded by Yuzhou Satellite TV, a famous cultural province, in collaboration with Bilibili. Just hearing these two production companies tells you that it's going to be high-quality content.

The original program featured a visual feast of dance troupes and stage design, but the current hardware is insufficient to support the stage design and visuals, so Wang Yao can only focus on cultural gimmicks and program format.

The program is themed around the 'Twelve Solar Terms' of traditional Chinese festivals and consists of 12 episodes. In each episode, three dance troupes perform a dance in collaboration with celebrity dance advisors.

The show guarantees high viewership with a star-studded lineup of three judges, three mentors, and nine dance recommenders. It then recruits 600 local dance troupes nationwide to participate, combining the show's theme with the unique characteristics of each troupe.

The three judges are: Jin Xing, Yang Liping, and Huang Doudou.

Three mentors: Tan Yuanyuan, Wang Yabin, and He Saifei
Shanghai Opera: [Tan Yuanyuan], Zhu Jiejing, Li Man, Mu Yishan
Peking Opera Dance: [Wang Yabin]: Miao Miao, Jin Chen, Tang Shiyi,

Opera: [He Saifei]: Li Qin, Li Yunxiao, Chen Lijun.

The program's highlights are divided into two parts: a 25-minute dance performance and a 25-minute variety show segment focusing on cultural promotion. The main focus is on the hardships faced by dance troupes and various intangible cultural heritage preservation efforts.

Each episode's best program is selected by audience vote on the Mulan Street column, and then the production team tries to get it featured on the Spring Festival Gala stage.

This program has the highest risk, but also the highest return. It can generate revenue from advertising sponsorships, offline tours, and the incubation of dancers, boosting the offline theater economy. If successful, it will be a phenomenal variety show.

Therefore, Wang Yao took the naming rights for himself and gave them to the 'Yunshang Apparel' brand. There are many cultural elements in it that can be used to make related clothing and accessories, and Yunshang can also be packaged as a cultural heritage.

Berna sent Dongfang Xin to lead the team, who evaluated and discussed the three variety shows, and ultimately invested 5000 million yuan, taking a 25% share.

With the title sponsors for "Super Return" and "Dance for a Thousand Years" already decided, Dongfang Xin has proposed a good partner for the remaining "Sister Flower".

"Mr. Wang should know, right?"

“Of course, I heard it’s the first Chinese skincare brand to go public soon.” Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly.

This skincare brand is currently a huge hit and a driving force behind the mask economy. It truly deserves the title of "King of Masks." It caught up with the era of exorbitant profits when a single mask cost 8 to 25 yuan.

As a result, Jimei became the first listed skincare brand in China, with a peak market value of over 5 billion yuan. However, it was eventually acquired by the international giant L'Oréal Group and went bankrupt due to a substitution, making it one of the first new domestic brands to die under the influence of capital.

“I’m quite familiar with Mr. Yu, the boss of Jimei. They’re planning to try their hand at e-commerce before their IPO. I wonder if Mr. Wang would be interested?” Dongfang Xin said with a smile.

“Jimei,” Wang Yao pondered for a moment. “If they dare to sponsor ‘Sister Hua’ with a sky-high price of 100 million, then I might try to help them push their e-commerce GMV to over 100 million this year.”

"This is an astronomical sponsorship." Dongfang Xin was also taken aback.

After all, the total investment for these three variety show projects is only 100 million yuan. Now they're making Jimei pay for it all. They're really treating them like suckers.

(End of this chapter)