Rebirth in 2011: Starting as an Advertising Genius

She looked up and saw Chen Jianghe. She breathed a sigh of relief, but was also a little nervous.

"I...I can't sleep, I want to draw for a while."

Chen Jianghe walked over, stood next to her, and looked down at the painting.

The painting is already quite complete, featuring water, lights, walls, the night sky, and even a few stars.

"Is it finished?"

"Almost there."

"What's missing?"

Yuan Meng hesitated for a moment, picked up an eraser, wiped away the extra little dot on the picture, and then added a star to the night sky.

Not too big, not too small, not too bright, not too dark, it falls exactly at the golden ratio point of the image.

"This is the star we were looking at together just now," she said, her voice very soft, as if afraid of being overheard.

The corridor was quiet for a moment. A few barks came from afar, then silence returned.

"Go back now, you have to get up early tomorrow." Yuan Meng closed her easel, jumped down from the windowsill, and picked up her art supplies.

"I'll take you back to your room."

"It's just ahead, a few steps away..."

"This is for you."

Yuan Meng did not refuse again.

The two walked side by side down the corridor, the wooden floorboards creaking softly. Reaching her room's door, Yuan Meng stopped and turned to look at him.

"arrive."

"Okay." Chen Jianghe nodded. "Go to sleep early."

"The same to you."

Yuan Meng opened the door and went in. Before closing the door, she poked her head out and whispered, "Chen Jianghe."

"Um?"

"Thank you for shopping with me today."

The door closed.

Chen Jianghe stood in the corridor, looked at the closed door, smiled, and turned back to his room.

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The next day.

Suzhou Zhenniu Headquarters.

Today is the day for Zhenniu's brand proposal. A total of five companies participated in the bidding, three of which were from Shanghai and two were from Suzhou. One of the Suzhou companies is the company where Teacher Luo works.

The meeting room is located on the seventeenth floor of an office building in the park. The floor-to-ceiling windows offer views of Taihu Lake, where sunlight shines on the surface, creating a scene like scattered gold.

The long table was filled with people on both sides. Shen Nan sat in the main seat, with five bidding proposals in front of him, each of different thickness and binding.

Five companies, each with forty minutes to present their proposals.

Shen Nan leaned back in his chair, twirling a pen in his hand.

"Mr. Shen, the first company can start now," the assistant whispered to him.

"Um."

The first company was "Yuedong GG" from Shanghai. The proposer was a woman in her early thirties with short hair, wearing a black business suit, and exuding a strong aura.

This person is Du Yue, who noticed Chen Jianghe's "Speaking for Myself" video. She is one of the partners of Yuedong and has extensive experience in the fast-moving consumer goods industry.

The PowerPoint presentation opened, and the cover read: "Zhenniu Dairy - A Brand Breakthrough Strategy from 0 to 1".

Du Yue stepped to the front of the stage, her voice clear and her pace moderate: "The core problem facing Zhenniu Dairy right now is not that the products are bad, but that consumers don't know about them. Our strategy is to 'leverage' existing resources. Suzhou has a very strong cultural symbol, which is 'Taihu Lake.' We suggest associating Zhenniu with Taihu Lake, creating the perception of 'a pure pasture by Taihu Lake.'"

She turned to the next page, which contained a complete visual scheme:

The packaging features waves and sailboats from Taihu Lake, in a clean and sophisticated blue and white color scheme.

"In terms of promotion, we suggest advertising Google Ads on the Suzhou Metro with a budget of 1.2 million yuan, covering major stations on Line 1 and Line 2. At the same time, we will combine it with local KOLs to visit stores and hold a ranch experience day event."

The proposal was fluent, professional, and impeccable.

After listening, Shen Nan did not immediately express his opinion, but simply wrote a line in his notebook.

The second, third, and fourth companies took the stage in turn.

Some brands are playing the "high-end" card, producing gift boxes and targeting premium supermarkets; others are playing the "emotional" card, producing a tear-jerking TV commercial about a father who quits his job to return to his hometown to raise cattle so that his children can drink safe milk; and yet another brand is even more direct, suggesting that Zhenniu engage in a price war, using low prices to seize the market and first increase sales volume.

Each family had its own logic, but Shen Nan's expression remained largely unchanged.

Until the fifth one.

Teacher Luo entered the conference room with a young female assistant.

She wasn't wearing formal attire, but rather a dark gray suit jacket with a white inner layer, which looked capable but not overly formal.

"Mr. Shen, hello judges, I am Luo Xing, from Suzhou Harmony GG."

She opened the PowerPoint presentation; the cover only had one line of text:

Good cow = good milk

There was no subtitle, no company logo, and no unnecessary embellishments.

Shen Nan paused for a moment.

"Before I present the plan, I'd like to tell you a story." Teacher Luo walked to the front of the stage, not using the remote control pen, but standing directly next to the screen, as if chatting with a friend.

"Mr. Shen used to run an e-commerce business in Beijing and earned 20 to 30 million yuan. Instead of buying a house or investing in other projects, he returned to Suzhou and leased 300 acres of land in Dongshan to raise more than 400 Australian dairy cows. Why? Because when he was in Beijing, he discovered that a lot of milk on the market was made from milk powder, and he wanted to make a truly fresh milk."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

"Consumers don't know this story. They only know that there are many brands of milk in supermarkets, with prices ranging from two to twenty yuan, and they can't tell which one is good and which one is diluted. So our strategy is not to tell consumers 'our milk is good,' but to let consumers 'see with their own eyes' that our milk is good."

Teacher Luo pressed the remote control, and the screen switched to the next page:

Adopt a cow

"Core concept: Shift from 'selling milk' to 'raising dairy cows'. Consumers are not buying a product, but adopting a life."

Shen Nan put down his pen and leaned forward slightly.

Teacher Luo continued speaking at a moderate pace, each slide of the PPT like a puzzle piece, slowly piecing together a complete picture.

"Live streaming for traceability - Cameras are installed in the cow sheds, milking parlors, and feed warehouses of the ranch to broadcast live 24 hours a day. Consumers can scan a code to see what grass their adopted cow ate today, how long it slept, and how much milk it produced."

"Adoption Program - For 199 yuan per month, you can adopt a cow. Users name themselves, receive fresh milk twice a week, and receive a 'growth report' of the cow every month, including its weight, milk production, health status, and even a 'cow selfie'."

"Offline experience - the ranch is open on weekends, and adopting users can come to feed the cows, milk them, and make cheese. We did a calculation, and if the conversion rate is 5%, we can have about 2,000 users visiting the ranch every month, which is a new source of revenue in itself."

Teacher Luo turned to the last page, which was a hand-drawn blueprint: cows, pastures, users, and milk cartons were connected by a line, forming a closed loop.

"This isn't just a milk promotion; it's a business model. Milk promotions only lead to a one-time purchase, but this 'adoption' model fosters long-term trust and repeat purchases. Consumers aren't just buying milk; they're raising a cow, participating in a story, and becoming part of the brand."

After she finished speaking, the conference room was silent for a full five seconds.