Chinese entertainment: Top stars have no holidays

It's 11:30 p.m.

The live stream ended on time.

Jiang Bai and Tian Xiwei bid each other a gentle farewell, thanking the audience for their company and support.

This star-studded live stream, destined to be recorded in the annals of drama promotion, has come to a successful conclusion.

The moment the live stream ended.

The live stream broke all records for celebrity live streams, second only to the live stream records of official events such as the Spring Festival Gala and Weibo Movie Night.

The peak number of concurrent online users reached 62.

The live stream garnered over 10 million views, 2 million reposts, generated 7 trending search terms, and achieved over 500 million views across the entire internet.

Thanks to the popularity of live streaming, the viewership of "A Love So Beautiful" has surged again.

It topped the Tencent Video trending list overnight, and within four hours of its premiere, the full episodes garnered over 100 million views, setting a new record for the fastest web series to reach 100 million views on its premiere this year.

All the brokerage teams, film and television companies, and publicity departments in the industry who were watching the live broadcast fell silent, followed by an overwhelming shock and realization.

Short videos expand their reach and drive traffic, drama series maintain their reputation, and live streams delve into character personalities to gain wider popularity.

With the added effect of multi-platform collaboration and multi-dimensional promotion, a smooth and efficient combination of publicity and marketing tactics quickly and successfully ignited the attention surrounding "A Love So Beautiful".

Learning has no end!

They learned so much new marketing knowledge in the past day.

This night was destined to keep them awake all night.

Jiang Bai and his company team were equally excited and showed no intention of taking a break.

"Tencent Video's official report stated that the video had over 100 million views in four hours, but the actual number of views in the background was only 50 million."

Dai Lu put down her phone, which had been ringing continuously, and said excitedly, "Only two episodes have been released since the premiere, and that's equivalent to over 2500 million views per episode in just four hours!"

"This marketing effect is amazing!"

No one would believe that the 50 million views were solely due to the quality of "A Love So Beautiful" or Jiang Bai's popularity.

Actually, according to the studio's internal goals...

If "A Love So Beautiful" gets 10 million views in 24 hours on the day it premieres, it will be considered a huge success.

A low-budget campus drama, it has five million episodes per episode since its premiere, and it should be able to reach ten million episodes per episode later on.

In the current landscape of low-budget online dramas, this is already considered a success.

However, ever since Jiang Bai became an unexpected sensation because of Lu Zhiang, Dai Lu's ambitions have also grown.

But no matter how well she planned it, she never imagined that it would garner 50 million views in just four hours.

When the hit drama of the year, "Princess Agents," premiered, it was broadcast on four online streaming platforms simultaneously, and even then, it only garnered 5.2 million views in 24 hours.

This is the publicly released data; the actual, real dehydration figures are unknown.

"Tencent actually injected half of the water?" Jiang Bai was somewhat surprised when he came to his senses.

With 50 million real views, the battle report has already reached 100 million views?

"This is the normal situation in the industry now," Dai Lu said helplessly.

She just spoke with the person in charge at Tencent.

Tencent didn't expect "A Love So Beautiful" to generate such a huge buzz and have such a high number of views right from the start.

They initially only planned to inflate the budget by 20 million, which they felt was enough; it was already the treatment for an A-list drama.

As a result, "A Love So Beautiful" garnered over 2000 million views in its first hour...

Tencent could only hurriedly increase the amount of water injected, adding water at a ratio of 50/50.

Jiang Bai was a little surprised by this, but he didn't have any objections.

He doesn't care about remaining untainted by the mud; he's going against the entire industry and trying to achieve some kind of "dehydration results."

When everyone else is exaggerating, and you're the only one who doesn't, people will just think you're crazy and pretentious.

Even the platform might not agree, and you don't even have the right to refuse.

"Fifty million real views, that's not bad either," Jiang Bai nodded in satisfaction.

Jiang Bai had checked the results of "A Love So Beautiful" countless times in his past life, and he remembered them very clearly.

The official report states that the number of views exceeded 1 million on the first day, but the exact figure of 1 million was not specified. In any case, they certainly wouldn't dare to inflate it to 2 million.

The actual dehydration data is 60 million units in 24 hours.

It's worth mentioning that on the day the original timeline of "A Love So Beautiful" was released, regular users could watch 2 episodes, while VIP users could watch 8 episodes.

That is, it took a total of 8 episodes to generate 60 million views on the first day, averaging less than 10 million views per episode.

On the day Jiang Bai's "A Love So Beautiful" was released, only two episodes were updated, which were available to all users.

It achieved an astonishing 2500 million views per episode in just four hours.

The majority of these views were generated by Jiang Bai's series of promotional tactics.

It was only by attracting almost all young people aged 14-22 on the internet to watch the show that this exaggerated success was achieved.

Tomorrow, Tencent will release 6 episodes for VIP users, while regular users will only get 2 episodes. After that, 2 episodes will be released every Friday and Saturday night.

VIP users consistently have a 4-episode lead, which is equivalent to a week's worth of content.

This is because Tencent Video values ​​"A Love So Beautiful" even more than Jiang Bai did in his previous life.

After all, with the change of actors and the presence of Jiang Bai, a dark horse in the industry, to carry the show, the platform also wanted to extend the broadcast period of "A Love So Beautiful" to generate more profits.

At a pace of 4 episodes per week, the broadcast period for "A Love So Beautiful" is 6 weeks for regular viewers and 5 weeks for VIP viewers.

"These 50 million views are only temporary; most of them are viewers who were attracted by the promotional activities for the drama and came to join in the fun."

At this point, Xu Xu calmly poured cold water on everyone's enthusiasm.

"Only after this wave of hype has passed and the viewers who came out of curiosity have left can we see the true performance of the show."

With the current 50 million views in four hours, the number of views in 24 hours could exceed 150 million, and the average number of views per episode could reach 60 to 70 million.

Xu Xu didn't believe that a low-budget campus drama could attract so many viewers.

Most viewers will probably just watch for fun, glancing at the first two episodes, and if they're not interested, they won't continue watching.

Xu Xu's words instantly extinguished the restlessness in everyone's hearts.

Dai Lu pinched the bridge of her nose and slowly nodded: "You're right. A large part of those 50 million real views are indeed curious viewers attracted by the drama's promotion, and they may not all be core fans who can stay with the drama."

She paused, looked at everyone, and her tone gradually became serious: "We cannot let our guard down after this."

"Douyin needs to keep up with the trend and maintain the momentum, while also guiding users to watch more episodes on Tencent Video."

"On Weibo, we will continue to develop Jiang Bai's academic genius persona, collaborate with drama fans to create fan-made content, and maintain the topic's popularity."

"In addition, we must pay close attention to audience feedback, whether it is positive or negative, and organize it in a timely manner, making adjustments promptly if there are any problems."

The team members responded in unison, their minds, which had been clouded by the data, finally clearing up.

The entertainment industry is known for its fleeting popularity, which rises and falls even faster.

After generating initial buzz through marketing, the key is to retain viewers and maintain viewership and positive word-of-mouth to achieve long-term success.

The group then discussed details such as subsequent publicity plans, reputation maintenance, and data monitoring for nearly an hour.

The discussion ended after 1 a.m.

"Alright, everyone go back and rest. We'll move on to the follow-up work tomorrow."

Looking at everyone's exhausted appearance, Jiang Bai said softly, "Thank you all for your hard work. All your efforts over this period of time have not been in vain."

"It's no trouble at all, Brother Jiang Bai, this is what we should do!" the staff responded with smiles.

They are all members of the studio's publicity team, responsible for maintaining Jiang Bai's online public opinion, public relations, and anti-black campaigns.

I usually sit in an office and rarely see Jiang Bai.

After spending the day with him today, I feel that this core artist, whom the studio is heavily promoting, really has a great personality and is very well-mannered in his interactions with others. Everyone's efforts are worthwhile!

Dai Lu patted Jiang Bai on the shoulder: "You should get some rest too. You have to rush to Hengdian to film 'Legend of Yunxi' tomorrow. Be careful on the road. I'll send you any new information as soon as possible."

Jiang Bai nodded and left the company with Tian Xiwei.

Xiaotian now has an agency, and she lives in the same building as Jiang Bai, except that one works at the headquarters and the other at a subsidiary studio.

Team members such as agents, assistants, and drivers have all been provided.

However, since Xiaotian is still in school and hasn't taken on any new roles yet, waiting for "A Love So Beautiful" to air, there aren't many opportunities to use the team members.

Jiang Baicai met her assistant and driver today.

After getting acquainted in the underground parking garage, Jiang Bai watched as Xiao Tian's assistant led her to the car and back to school.

He didn't go back to his apartment in Shanghai; instead, he went straight to a hotel.

Soon, the room was filled with even breathing sounds. Jiang Bai finally shed all his fatigue and drifted off to sleep.

......

At six o'clock the next morning, just as dawn was breaking and Shanghai was still shrouded in a thin mist, Jiang Bai had already gotten up and prepared.

After a quick breakfast, the driver and assistant were already waiting downstairs at the hotel.

He carried a simple suitcase, quickly got into the car, and drove towards Hengdian.

Around 8:30 a.m., my phone suddenly rang, and the words "Dai Lu" appeared on the screen.

Still catching up on sleep, Jiang Bai, half-asleep, quickly answered the phone, his voice still languid from just waking up: "Hello, what's up?"

On the other end of the phone, Dai Lu's voice was calm as she said, "Jiang Bai, the latest viewership data for 'A Love So Beautiful' is out."

"The actual number of views exceeded 70 million in 12 hours. The official report has been released, stating 150 million, which is about what we expected."

Upon hearing this, a hint of a smile flashed in Jiang Bai's eyes.

The actual number of views exceeded 70 million in 12 hours, but the increase was only 20 million, and the growth rate has indeed slowed down a lot, which is just as Xu Xu had predicted.

However, the traffic from Douyin and Weibo continues, and it is estimated that the number of views can increase by another 20 to 30 million during the day.

There will be absolutely no problem with the actual data exceeding 1 million on the first day.

"It's normal for the growth rate to slow down," Jiang Bai said softly. "After all, the surge in the first four hours was entirely due to the promotional efforts for the drama."

"This kind of growth is already quite good."

Jiang Bai, who was aware of the original success of "A Love So Beautiful," was already extremely satisfied with the current results.

"Moreover, the audience's word-of-mouth is currently very good, with comments praising the sweet plot and the actors' good acting skills. The word-of-mouth will definitely spread in the future."

Dai Lu continued, "As long as the word-of-mouth doesn't collapse, the future trend of our show will definitely be stable."

"That's good." Jiang Bai nodded in satisfaction. "Follow up with the publicity and promotion as we discussed yesterday. Don't rush things, take it one step at a time."

"Don't worry, leave it all to me," Dai Lu replied.

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Bai put down his phone and let out a long sigh of relief.

"A Love So Beautiful" is the project he values ​​most since his rebirth. The success or failure of this drama will lay the foundation for his future acting career.

Now that the show is airing smoothly, a huge weight has finally been lifted off his shoulders.

......

At 10:00 a.m. sharp, the car finally arrived at the filming location of "Legend of Yunxi" in Hengdian World Studios.

As soon as he parked the car, Jiang Bai sensed an atmosphere completely different from when he left last time.

The staff who had initially just greeted him politely now all surrounded him, their faces beaming with warm smiles and their eyes filled with admiration and flattery.

"Brother Jiang Bai, you're finally back!"

"Teacher Jiang, 'A Love So Beautiful' is so popular! We watched the whole thing last night, it's so good!"

"Professor Jiang, your live stream was so cool! And your degree from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics is amazing!"

The staff surrounded Jiang Bai, chattering amongst themselves.

Some people offered water, some helped carry suitcases, and others took out their phones and cautiously asked if they could take a photo together, their tone full of enthusiasm and respect.

After all, it's clear to everyone that Jiang Bai is no longer the newcomer who only briefly became popular because of one drama.

The premiere of "A Love So Beautiful" was a huge hit, making him a true potential top star with a hit show, soaring popularity, and a promising future.

Jiang Bai responded with a smile, his tone gentle and without the slightest airs.

He first accepted the water offered by the staff, then politely declined the request for a photo, explaining, "Sorry everyone, I just arrived. I'm going to the dressing room to change clothes and get ready for filming."

"How about we take a group photo during our break?"

"Okay, okay, no problem! Brother Jiang Bai, you go ahead and do your work, we won't bother you!" The crew members quickly responded and made way for them.

However, the enthusiasm in their eyes did not diminish at all, and they watched Jiang Bai walk towards the dressing room.

Along the way, the crew members who came across him, including extras and supporting actors, all stopped and greeted Jiang Bai.

"Teacher Jiang, you're amazing! 'A Love So Beautiful' became a huge hit as soon as it premiered. Could I get your autograph?"

It was only a hundred meters from the outside of the film set to the dressing room converted from a rented side hall, but it took Jiang Bai almost ten minutes to walk there.

There was no way around it; everyone in the crew—the lighting, photography, and prop masters—as well as the various extras and supporting actors, were incredibly enthusiastic about him.

After last night, Jiang Bai is practically a walking trending topic. Who wouldn't want to ride his coattails?

Just take a group photo and post it on social media, and the crew members behind the scenes can get envious glances from their peers. After all, working on a new drama with actors who starred in a hit series means that the project has a high success rate!

As for those extras and supporting actors in Hengdian, as long as they have a photo with Jiang Bai, the casting directors and extras leaders in their WeChat Moments will compete to offer them film contracts.

Not for any other reason than to get some good luck.

Anyway, a group member with good prospects earns three to five hundred yuan a day.

Spend a few hundred dollars to hire a minor actor who has acted with a hit actor. What if it brings good luck and popularity to the production team?

Don't laugh, small film crews in Hengdian believe this!

If you don't believe in superstitions, is it still the entertainment industry?

Thus, Jiang Bai, receiving treatment comparable to that of a national treasure, broke through the encirclement and squeezed into the dressing room with great difficulty.

As soon as he entered, he saw a pair of eyes full of curiosity and envy.