Huayu 2002, I'm going to dominate the music scene!

Chapter 96 Copying the American Basketball Team's Playing Style

After adding Master Kong to the list of people to be contacted, Anming handed over the second set of documents.

"The second one is Yishion, a clothing brand from Guangdong province that mainly targets the young market." An Ming leaned back on the sofa, his tone more serious than before. "You should have heard of this one. They've been expanding aggressively in the last two years; their GG logo is everywhere."

Song Mo took the document and opened it. What came into view was a simply designed brand introduction page with a white background and a black logo.

He flipped through it and found several photos of stores and products. The style was casual, the colors were clean, and it looked quite comfortable.

"Yichun?" Song Mo was a little surprised. "Weren't they working well together with Lu Yi?"

He remembered clearly that not long ago he had seen Lu Yi endorsing Yichun on TV, filming that "Innocent Era" video. The video's title was Yichun, meaning "Innocent Era."

It has to be said that Lu Yi, who was still quite young and handsome at the time, had a bright and sunny smile and was quite approachable.

An Ming chuckled and tapped his finger on the armrest: "Didn't something happen? Last month, Lu Yi committed a traffic violation in Huairou and got into a car accident. He was fine, but his image was damaged, and Yichun wasn't too happy about it. Plus, Jay Chou's 'Ye Huimei' became a huge hit this year, and Metersbonwe made 'Her Eyelashes' into a 'GG song,' playing Jay Chou's music all day long in their stores, and their posters were full of trendy elements like guitars, skateboards, and DJs, attracting young people like moths to a flame. Yichun couldn't sit still anymore and wanted to find an influential musician to endorse them."

Song Mo really didn't expect Yichun to find him. At this time in 2003, a large number of domestic brands were pursuing a younger image. Semir, for example, had invited Nicholas Tse, Twins, Show Lo and others to be its spokespeople.

Metersbonwe previously used Aaron Kwok, but the results were mediocre, so this year they switched to Jay Chou.

His slogan, "Metersbonwe, taking an unconventional path," propelled Metersbonwe to new heights in the hearts of young people, making it a symbol of trendiness and coolness.

The deep collaboration between Metersbonwe and Jay Chou has indeed set a precedent for the endorsement model in the apparel industry. Previously, no brand had been so deeply bound to an endorser. At one point, people on Tianya (a Chinese online forum) even asked if Metersbonwe was owned by Jay Chou.

But since young people are so receptive to this model, it's no surprise that competitors are envious and approached him to try and replicate it.

There are quite a few young singers from Hong Kong and Taiwan in mainland China, but they are all too expensive. In mainland China, there are only Song Mo, Hu Yanbin, and...

Among the members of Yu Quan, Song Mo undoubtedly has the best image; if we don't look for him, there's no one else.

After thinking it through, Song Mo asked the most crucial question, "How much money did they offer?"

"1.5 million a year." Anming turned a page of the documents, "but the requirements are an eight-year contract, three offline appearances per year, and authorization for stores to use your music and related image elements."

Song Mo frowned. 1.5 million, although it was almost double that of Master Kong, this was a deep collaboration. You know, Pepsi was paying Jay Chou 8 million for his endorsement at this time, while Metersbonwe was paying a staggering 10 million. Of course, Song Mo didn't expect Yichun to pay that much, but he would never accept 1.5 million.

"How about this, I don't want more, just 200 million, but only a two-year contract. After two years, they can have priority to sign contracts with similar clothing brands. If they agree to this, we'll talk to them," Song Mo said after thinking for a moment.

Song Mo has only released one album so far. Although it has sold over 150 million copies in mainland China, no one is sure how his next album will fare.

Yichun probably won't bet everything on him like Metersbonwe did, so signing him for two years is better for everyone. If Song Mo's albums continue to be popular in these two years, his endorsement fee will definitely be more than 200 million. And if Song Mo's albums are not well received later, Yichun will have more room to maneuver.

An Ming nodded after hearing Song Mo's words, "That's good too. Anyway, you have priority in signing contracts. As long as they are willing to pay the same amount as outside, they can keep you. I don't think they will object too much."

Song Mo laughed, without explicitly stating that it was uncertain whether Yi Chun would be able to afford that price two years from now.

At this moment, An Ming gave him a strange look, coughed, and continued, "Are these the only conditions? Are there any others? For example, not wanting Yi Chun to work with those celebrities, etc."

Song Mo looked at him with surprise, somewhat confused as to why he would say that.

An Ming smiled meaningfully and said, "Besides signing you, Yichun also plans to sign Fan Binbin this time." Song Mo was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"I understand." He shook his head. "They're trying to stir up some rumors about us, aren't they? The love triangle just died down not long ago, and they're already making things worse."

"What's there to be afraid of? As long as it generates buzz for them, that's all that matters," An Ming said with a smile. "I've already inquired with Fan Bingbing, and she's already agreed. If you two sign, Yichun will have secured both the hottest new singer and the rising star of the year, instantly maximizing their media attention."

An Ming continued, "Moreover, Yishion is a large company with over a thousand stores nationwide, covering more cities than you can visit for a roadshow. If you can secure this endorsement, it will greatly boost your brand awareness. However, being associated with Fan Bingbing for marketing has its pros and cons; it depends on your perspective."

After thinking for a moment, Song Mo spoke up, "Since this matter still exists, then 200 million won't be enough. How about this, 260 million a year..."

"If they don't agree, then forget it."

An Ming paused for a moment, then laughed: "Fine, I'll go talk to them. Your mouth is even more ruthless than mine."

"It's not that I'm ruthless, it's just that they wanted to take shortcuts, so they have to pay a price." Song Mo's tone was very calm.

Anming made a note in his notebook, put the second document aside, and picked up the third one.

"The third one is Haochidian, a new brand of Dali Group, which mainly sells casual cookies." Anming pushed the information over. "This company offered 800,000 yuan. There are no exclusivity clauses or offline activity requirements. All you need to do is shoot a TV show clip and authorize them to use your image for two years."

Song Mo took the document and opened it. Inside was a sample image of the product packaging: an orange background with a cartoon smiley face and the words "Delicious" written next to it.

He stared at the packaging for two seconds, and a silly thought suddenly popped into his head: "If it's delicious, eat more."

This "GG" phrase is quite catchy, but didn't he remember this brand should have approached Little Swallow? Why did they find him? But since they've come knocking, Song Mo didn't stand on ceremony and said directly, "This is acceptable."

Although Haochidian is a new brand, Dali Group is a food giant with a wide distribution network. Moreover, Haochidian targets a young demographic, which overlaps significantly with Song Mo's target audience. The price of 800,000 isn't high, but it's not low either; the key is that there aren't many complicated conditions, making it hassle-free.

An Ming nodded: "Then should I add this to the contact list as well?"

"Okay, keep in touch with Master Kong, negotiate with Yichun at 2.6 million, and we can finalize the deal with Haochidian." Song Mo closed the documents and handed them to An Ming. "Anything else?"

"These are the three for now." An Ming took the documents and put them into a file bag. "I've eliminated the others. One company makes health products and offered a million, but I rejected it outright. Another company makes tiles and claims to be a foreign brand, but I didn't think they were reliable, so I ignored them."

Song Mo nodded. He trusted An Ming's abilities.