Car endorsement has always been a big deal among celebrity endorsements.
Especially before it has entered the traffic era and the automobile market has not yet entered the tram era.
Car brands will look for them, and they basically have to be leaders in various industries.
Middle-aged male stars such as Andy Lau, Guo Fucheng and Cheng Daoming are the most popular.
Next are A-list actresses who prefer sexy and high-end styles such as Fan Bingbing and Karen Mok.
Of course, finding celebrity endorsements is not without its setbacks.
For example, in 2007, Cadillac approached Liu Xiang as an endorser. However, in 2008, Liu Xiang was injured and retired from the Olympics. He was scolded by audiences across the country, and the brand was also in bad luck.
Liu Xiang’s incident fully illustrates the cruelty of competitive sports.
Some leaders in the sports community in our country really don't treat athletes as human beings. When something happens, they will use athletes as a scapegoat to face public criticism.
The top player in Magic City Sports at that time forced the Flyers to play with injuries, but he hid behind when something happened.
This guy didn't fare well in the end either. He later went to the Chinese Super League as vice-chairman, where he was dismissed and sentenced to 11 years.
In addition to Liu Xiang, Fan Bingbing also served as a spokesperson for Renault in later generations.
As a result, just a few months after the signing of the contract was promoted with great fanfare, Mr. Fan lost his job because of 800 million.
This is also completely bad luck for the brand.
Who knew something could suddenly go wrong with these bits.
Of course, there are also people who know that there are problems with the spokespersons but still refuse to use them.
Just like Great Wall Boss Wei and his good daughter.
Not only did it find a controversial talk show actress to endorse a certain model of its brand designed for female users, but it also named the car's green color "Forgive Green"...
This "proud woman of heaven" probably thinks that she is very humorous and very trendy.
And this time Volkswagen, or to be precise, SAIC Volkswagen, approached Zhang Yuan to discuss endorsements. The main reason was because of the car race and the fact that in order to promote charity and sports, the family promoted him to "China." Sports magazine.
Based on his current fame and strength, he is actually not qualified to accept car advertisements.
If "The Banquet" and "The Golden Jacket" are filmed and aired next year, maybe it will be okay.
But now just having a "Yang Guo" is not enough.
However, that charity race was originally sponsored by SAIC Volkswagen, and their factory is not far from the Magic City Circuit.
The racing car used is also a modified version of POLO. Although the car is no longer a micro-DO, basically the only modification left is the original car.
In addition, Zhang Yuan's rescue of Xiang Zuo from the car not only appeared on the evening news in Shanghai, but was also reported by major media.
This made SAIC Volkswagen become interested in him.
"Mr. Zhang, please sit down."
After arriving at the Volkswagen factory in JD District, the deputy general manager of the Corporate Propaganda Department personally entertained him.
"What we want to discuss with you this time is the endorsement of a single model."
Zhang Yuan was not surprised by this.
Car companies, especially large car companies, rarely have a single brand spokesperson, and most of them are based on the car model.
"As for the specific model, it is the POLO you drive during the competition."
Except for racing related events.
There are other reasons why SAIC Volkswagen came to him.
The sales of POLO models fell sharply last year!
Only 25,000 units were sold in a year.
This number is actually very scary. The total annual sales of many later small car companies cannot reach the annual sales of this car.
But at that time, there were only a few car brands to choose from, and the demand for family cars was growing rapidly. It was a good time to spend money like crazy.
In 2004, POLO bought more than 36,000 vehicles.
Seeing that model sales dropped by nearly 30%, SAIC must be worried.
The target customers of the POLO model are young women who have a little money but not much.
This positioning just hits Zhang Yuan’s comfort zone!
SAIC also conducted market research and found that not only was he connected with the brand, but his personal image and positioning were also quite suitable.
After chatting for a while and briefly talking about the goals, the other party came up with a plan.
It is marked with the number of activities expected by the other party, including press conferences, media meetings, advertising shoots, on-site road shows... and most importantly, the price.
"Mr. Zhang Yuan, our offer to you is very sincere, six million in two years."
"Six million a year?"
"Six million in total."
Zhang Yuan:......
Is this called sincerity?
Aokang Leather Shoes gives you much more than you!
They are also sanctioned by the EU.
Three million a year and a lot of troublesome activities for me.
Isn’t this bullying an honest person?
"This price is a bit low." Zhang Yuan told the truth.
3 million per year is basically the price of the home appliances he endorses.
Can a car be the same as a home appliance?
"Actually, we originally wanted Jay Chou to be our spokesperson."
"But I think you are more suitable." The manager immediately replied.
Yo ho!
Is this threatening me?
If you don’t do it, others will!
Although SAIC-Volkswagen is a joint venture, there are no shortage of problems with state-owned enterprises.
It seems that you are the ones who will look down upon Hua Wei in future generations and declare that they will never cooperate with the other party.
Awesome, awesome, awesome...
"Actually, this endorsement is a good thing that is mutually beneficial." The other party continued.
"I know that in your film and television entertainment industry, there is actually a hierarchy."
"Getting endorsements from big brands will also help the artist's own fame."
Zhang Yuan:......
You mean, are you flattering me?
I ask you to do things because I think highly of you...
Faced with the other party's "leadership speeches" one after another, Zhang Yuan had many things to say, not just how to complain.
I came here all night, so you can fix this for me, right?
There is money to be made, but I am not happy about making this money!
Being pressed on the head to make money makes me look like a young lady.
Although there are indeed many people in our industry who are prostitutes rather than artists...
"Okay, I'll think about it again." Zhang Yuan didn't turn his face, and chatted with the other party for a while with a smile.
The manager was also polite and sent him outside the company gate.
"Brother Zhang Yuan, what should we do next?" Assistant Zhao Juejue noticed the boss's displeasure.
"It's okay, let's find a place first and let's eat."
"Then I'll make a call."
After finding a local restaurant, the two of them sat down.
Zhang Yuan called Huo Qigang.
"Hey, sir, since we intend to hold a charity race next year."
"I think it's better to start preparations earlier."
"Recruit investment in advance and find cooperative units."
"It's better for me to plan the contact."
Everyone in the Hao family saw that he was very motivated and quite satisfied.
Because of the racing activities he did two days ago, he was praised by his family.
After the other party agreed, Zhang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Brother Zhang Yuan, do you want to negotiate with SAIC over this matter?"
After following Zhang Yuan for a long time, Zhao Yuanxuan also began to try to use his brain, and he became able to turn around when talking and doing things.
However, it is not enough.
“SAIC is the number one car company in the country.”
"If you use racing as a bargaining chip to talk to him, you are threatening him face to face."
“If you threaten a state-owned enterprise in person, will you get any good results?”
Zhang Yuan said seriously.
"What should we do?" the assistant asked puzzledly.
"It's definitely not allowed to threaten people in person...but you can threaten them quietly behind your back."
"We must do things decently."
Zhao Jue:……
Zhao Juejue felt that those beautiful women might just like the handsome and bad looks of their boss.
Zhang Yuan turned around and contacted the public.
But it’s not SAIC, it’s FAW!
In fact, Volkswagen's most iconic vehicle is not the POLO, but the Golf. In particular, the performance model Golf GTI is a classic series that has been popular in the car industry for decades.
The domestic production line of golf is at FAW.
A well-known joke about Volkswagen is the origin of everything golf.
POLO is a small golf ball.
Tiguan is Golf PRO.
Touareg is Golf PLUS.
Cayenne is a golf PROMAX……
Although exaggerated, it is not entirely fiction.
Because the golf production line is not only owned by FAW, but also by SAIC!
But SAIC is only authorized to use this production line to manufacture a small MPV called Touran.
These two cars actually come off the same production line.
FAW and SAIC, both joint ventures between Volkswagen and state-owned enterprises, cannot be said to be close to each other. They can only be said to be enemies.
There is naked hatred among peers!
In-fighting between joint venture cars of the same brand but from different regions can be regarded as an old tradition in China.
The battle between SAIC and FAW is even more intense.
This is a typical competition between southern and northern car companies.
Similar ones include Dongfeng Honda and Guangqi Honda.
FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota.
It's okay for other companies, but the two companies with similar production lines are the objects of direct comparison.
In particular, the POLO and Golf models both flaunt their youthful, fashionable and sporty attributes.
Both cars also have their own cup competitions in China, organized by FAW and SAIC.
When FAW asked about sponsoring a racing car, Snot Bubble almost stopped being happy.
They all saw how lively the competition was, and they were worried about not being able to get involved.
If you don't do it, others will do it... Zhang Yuanzheng used this method to return the words to SAIC.
Within a day or two, SAIC called Zhang Yuan again.
Invite him to visit the factory.
He happily ran over again.
The person who came to pick him up this time was not the manager of the corporate propaganda department, but the assistant to the president.
Even though they are just assistants, just like the mayor's secretary, ordinary bureau-level officials have to be polite when they see them. After all, they represent the big leaders.
First, he took him around the company's internal cultural museum, and then walked around the production line and introduced it.
Then he led him into the high-level conference room.
This person's attitude was like spring breeze, he was very polite, and he even made tea for him personally.
You're welcome.
After the vice president found out that Zhang Yuan had gone to contact FAW, the deputy manager of the Corporate Propaganda Department was scolded and forcibly detained in the president's office for more than half an hour.
"If there is a Volkswagen racing car on the Magic City track."
“But the model is from FAW.”
"Then our SAIC is really shameless!"
There are FAW cars running on SAIC's land, and the president feels a toothache just thinking about it.
I wonder how I will be laughed at by my peers.
It will definitely become the annual joke in the car industry.
Then he kicked the people from the corporate propaganda department away and let his own people handle it.
"You have talked about endorsements with our people before..."
"There's no rush yet." Zhang Yuan interrupted just after this person opened his mouth.
"Let's first talk about the charity racing sponsorship for the coming year."
"Okay!" The assistant immediately agreed with a smile.
It seems that this person still puts work as a priority... This person thought.
The reason why Zhang Yuan dared to do this was because he was in the name of the Hao family.
Since you are carrying someone else's name, you have to do things for them first, both emotionally and rationally.
Otherwise, what do people think of you?
Anyone who wants to get benefits while doing things will turn a blind eye.
If you do nothing even if you reap the benefits, then you will be unjust and helpless.
“This racing event was a success.”
“At the leadership meeting, everyone agreed to increase sponsorship...”
The other party probably said something.
This year SAIC-Volkswagen has given a sponsorship of 8 million yuan, and is willing to increase it to 12 million yuan next year.
But it is also conditional on more display opportunities, including exhibitions of the company's new models.
What the other party meant was to find a bunch of ladies to get together in front of the cars lined up like a car show.
In those days, car shows were not restricted, and scantily clad models of all kinds attracted a crowd of photography enthusiasts to gather every year.
And there is an intensifying trend, with various borderline behaviors taking turns.
At that time, when there was a car show, the whole city went crazy...
The clothes worn by those models could not even be sewn together into a backless skirt even if they were sewn together ten times. The pieces were just like Brother Qian’s underpants.
In 2015, they couldn't stand it anymore, so they issued a model restriction order, which greatly suppressed this kind of entertainment activities that the common people loved.
Can our charity activities be used for this?
Zhang Yuan immediately refused.
But he promised to use SAIC's new vehicles when organizing celebrity parades.
When the time comes to organize a charity auction, the vehicles provided by SAIC will also be used as auction items, and they promise to speculate on the prices.
You give me a car that sells for 300,000 yuan, and I organize celebrities to raise signs to raise it to 1 million yuan, and the news will come.
The other party was very satisfied with this and a verbal agreement was quickly reached.
The specific details and contract must be signed with the Hao family.
Zhang Yuan promised to act as an intermediary.
"We did not do enough research on the POLO model endorsement fees before, and we don't understand your market situation." After talking about this, the other party moved on to the next topic.
In fact, both parties understand that this is an excuse.
Don't you know Zhang Yuan's market situation?
"We are willing to give you double the previous price and sign a two-year model endorsement contract with you at a contract fee of 6 million per year."
Zhang Yuan understood as soon as he heard that the other party not only knew his market situation, but also understood it very clearly.
This price is higher than that offered by Aokang Leather Shoes, and equals the "sky-high price" offered by Adidas.
He expected to break his own endorsement fee record with this endorsement.
But after thinking about it, I shouldn’t go too far.
They have already given in, so now we have to treat each other as friends and have a good relationship.
Besides, as long as I hold a charity car and race in Shanghai every year, cooperation with SAIC will be indispensable.
With this competition, I will eat you forever!
After verbal negotiations, the two parties set a signing date, and then discussed the contract details.
This cannot be done in a day or two, you have to take your time.
This end is finally finished.
After going out, Zhang Yuan patted his trouser pocket.
“It’s great to have money in my account again!”
I talked to Cheng Hao about this and asked her to help him find his usual contract lawyer.
"Car endorsement, it's great!" Cheng Hao praised highly.
She also has vehicle endorsements, but they are two-wheeled electric vehicles...
Of course it can't be compared with Volkswagen, even if it's just the cheapest car.
And the cheaper the car, the more it needs a spokesperson.
People who buy Rolls-Royces don’t read ads.
Those customers with limited budgets are the most picky and entangled.
"By the way, there happens to be something." After chatting for a while and enjoying the compliments from his good sister, the man changed the subject.
"It's a coincidence that I contacted Chang Chang and Bao Qiang at the same time and wanted them to participate in the starring role."
"But I am a little hesitant. I always feel that this film is not serious."
"So I want to ask you, should I let them go?"
"What movie?" Zhang Yuan asked curiously.
"It's called "Legend·Fantasy Yin Shang"..." (End of this chapter)