Some things, once they appear, you just know they're going to be popular.
Kaixin001 launched for only one week, gaining 500,000 registered users, with a daily active user rate almost reaching 70% of registered users.
The exaggerated daily active user rate once made statistical agencies think they had misread it, only confirming after repeated checks that there was no mistake!
"Damn, this website is a bit unbelievable. The model is similar to Xiaonei.com, but its rapid growth is far more exaggerated than Xiaonei.com."
"Right? I thought I misread it when I was doing the statistics yesterday, and compared it several times."
"It's almost geometric growth; it's terrifying. The curve rate looks scary. How did they do it? I don't seem to have seen any major promotions either."
"We checked. If you say they have promotions, they have quite a few, just posting on major forums and collaborating with an electric vehicle manufacturer, using celebrities to attract attention. It doesn't seem like particularly major promotion."
"Let's check again tonight to see if it can continue. This website is going to be popular."
"You're also researching this website? I just went on and played for a while. Tsk-tsk-tsk, it's really quite interesting. Its marketing should be considered viral marketing, attracting users and then retaining them with content and mini-games. I just don't know how they'll monetize it."
The mobile internet era is a winner-take-all era, but in the PC era, this concept didn't seem particularly clear.
Both investment institutions and the websites themselves focused more on how to generate profit and monetize in the present.
QQ was in such a hurry because Pony Ma couldn't find a way to monetize profits, until a transformation strategy was decided at the end of last year, using games as a breakthrough.
Kaixin001's exaggerated curve growth rate and retention rate caught the attention of its peers, but after much research, they still couldn't figure out how it was supposed to generate profit.
In addition to Xiaonei.com and Qzone, there are many other social networking sites competing in the same category.
Whether it can ultimately survive the fierce competition is still an unknown.
Therefore, although Kaixin001 received attention from some investment institutions and internet peers, it was just attention.
It had only been a few years since the internet winter, and many investment institutions were still under the shadow of its arrival, being very cautious about investing in nascent websites.
However, some keen-nosed firms began to investigate Orange Technology, the company behind Kaixin001.
These included an investment institution named Northern Light Capital and Qiming Venture Partners, established at the beginning of this year.
Especially Qiming Venture Partners.
Qiming Venture Partners has a foreign capital background.
This newly established domestic venture capital firm focuses on early and growth-stage companies in technology, consumer, and healthcare sectors.
The rapid growth of Kaixin001 caught the attention of its Managing Partner, Kuang Ping.
This managing partner, who studied in the US and holds a bachelor's degree in computer science, is the partner at Qiming responsible for information technology investments.
Before co-founding Qiming Venture Partners, he was the country director for Intel Capital, leading Intel's strategic investment business in China.
He has extensive investment experience and is considered a well-known figure in the investment field in China.
Tan Jincheng didn't know all of this, but Kaixin001 attracting investor attention just one week after its launch was still a remarkable achievement.
Kaixin001's subsequent development would certainly require more money, and Tan Jincheng couldn't keep spending his own money.
Attracting investment institutions was an absolute necessity.
The most important things in the internet industry are burning cash and connections. Investors not only bring capital but also a wealth of connections.
Many small companies grow into large ones starting from the connections brought by investors.
Tan Jincheng, who was now attracting the attention of big shots, was in Long Danni's office at Tianyu Xiangcheng Company, discussing the contract details for Chun Ge's renewal, while waiting for Chun Ge.
Chun Ge had another event in the morning and couldn't come to sign the contract until it was over.
Celebrities seem glamorous, but in reality, they are not as they appear on the surface.
Unlike last year, this year, with Chun Ge receiving more attention, Long Danni personally controlled all the contract details for the renewal process.
Chun Ge and her agent had almost no right to speak.
All Chun Ge had to do was come back and sign after the event.
Then, she would have to rush to the next event.
Not all celebrities are as lucky as Liu Yifei, for whom a management company was specially established, with scripts, development plans, and collaborating manufacturers all personally screened by her mother.
To have no decision-making power over contracts closely related to one's income for the next few years, or where and what kind of commercial performances to do, this job was quite stifling.
With such an overbearing style, it's no wonder that in the following years, many talent show stars would even go to court to seek contract termination.
Lunch was eaten at Tianyu Company.
The food was indeed good, and it felt like it wasn't specially prepared, truly befitting a company that makes money quickly.
No wonder there was a famous scene in a variety show from his past life where breakfast cost 600 yuan.
Second-tier celebrity treatment, 1.6 million yuan annual endorsement fee, renewed until July 2010.
Compared to the first contract, the endorsement fee quadrupled.
However, Tan Jincheng took some advantage with last year's contract; even ten days later, the price wouldn't have been the same.
Tianyu was essentially outsmarted by Tan Jincheng.
"Pleasure working with you, Mr. Tan. We look forward to more cooperation opportunities."
"Pleasure working with you. Shanchi also hopes to have more cooperation opportunities with your esteemed company."
Both parties, including Chun Ge, were quite satisfied with this contract.
What celebrities value most is their net worth.
A net worth of 400,000 a year ago, and 1.6 million a year later—this was an excellent publicity point.
Shanchi was also quite satisfied with the three-year renewal.
Chun Ge's popularity was beyond doubt, and her image perfectly matched the Shanchi series, making her a highly qualified endorser.
From the feedback from the marketing department during this period, the Shanchi series, after significant discounts, was favored by many non-mainstream ghost fire youths.
Many of them were Chun Ge's fans, buying vehicles for Chun Ge's name during the discount period.
This is a good sign.
Brand cultivation doesn't happen overnight.
Ghost fire youths are ghost fire youths now, but that doesn't mean they will always be ghost fire youths.
Their current consumption power and aesthetic taste may not keep up, but that doesn't mean they won't in the future.
Tan Jincheng himself transitioned from the Martian Script era and deeply understood this.
As long as they approve of Shanchi's products, there's infinite potential for them to continue using them in the future, both electric scooters and cars are possible.
Come on, ghost fire youths!
Work hard, earn money, and grow up quickly~!
"Oh, by the way, Chun Ge's fans won first place in the voting on Kaixin001. Does Chun Ge have any thoughts on where to allocate this 1 million yuan donation?"
The cooperation was very smooth, and Tan Jincheng decided to do them a favor.
Chun Ge looked bewildered, clearly not having thought about this issue.
She didn't even have autonomy over her contract, let alone thinking about where to use these donations.
Compared to her immaturity last year, Chun Ge had grown a lot, but it was just growth.
Endless activities and commercial performances occupied a large amount of her time, leaving no time for reflection.
After all, she was only 20 years old.
She was a Chengdu native, from a relatively well-off family since childhood.
In those days, few art students were poor.
In over a year since her debut, besides commercial performances and recording albums, she hadn't truly encountered the lowest strata of society.
Also, Chun Ge's first album would be released in September this year.
It had been over a year since her debut, and her first album still hadn't come out.
This showed that Tianyu was merely using her popularity as a cash cow at this time, without much long-term planning.
Chun Ge looked at Man Yang and Long Danni somewhat helplessly.
This question was not easy to answer casually.
It was her fans' honor, and if she answered poorly and it got out, it would be irresponsible to her fans and would affect her image.
"How about finding a poverty-stricken county in Hunan or Sichuan Province?"
Long Danni replied with a smile.
Actually, even if Tan Jincheng hadn't brought it up, she had intended to, to introduce the leaders from some cities in Hunan Province who had asked her to introduce Tan Jincheng to them.
Nodding, Tan Jincheng looked at Chun Ge and said,
"That works. How about Sichuan Province? Chun Ge is from Sichuan, and helping impoverished students in your hometown in the name of your fans would also be a good deed."
Of course, Chun Ge had no objections.
1 million yuan was not a small sum, and Shanchi Technology being able to donate 1 million yuan to impoverished mountainous areas and subsidize students' education was quite generous.
All along, Tan Jincheng had actually donated a lot of money, including in Beicang, his hometown, and Tianjin, with varying degrees of donations.
On one hand, it was to smoothly secure projects, and on the other, it was from his true intentions.
But he had never actively publicized it.
Tan Jincheng strictly forbade Shanchi's public relations department from using donations to promote the company or himself.
This 1 million yuan was the first proactive donation, but it still wasn't in Shanchi's name.
Donating money was fine, but Tan Jincheng didn't want to bear the reputation of being benevolent and charitable.
"Alright then, after the location is decided, I'll hand the matter over to our company's marketing department. Our idea is to build a new teaching building at your chosen location, in the name of your fans."
"As for the location, Chun Ge, you can research which economically less prosperous areas are suitable, or interact with your fans in Sichuan Province online and ask for their opinions. This is also a way to build a closer relationship with your fans."
2008 was approaching.
Do what you can.
Choosing a location silently in the name of fans can achieve "silent nurturing."
Long Danni's eyes lit up.
This was indeed a good publicity plan that could foster interaction between the idol and her fans.
"I've long heard that Mr. Tan is a marketing master. A single sentence captured the essence of promotion; truly brilliant."
Today's celebrities are aloof, but talent show stars are so popular precisely because most of them come from humble backgrounds, living lives very close to their fans.
In them, fans see reflections of themselves.
How idols maintain these relationships is something the management company needs to address.
Her mood, which had just been somewhat disappointed due to the decision to locate in Sichuan, preventing her from joining the conversation, brightened considerably in an instant.
"Forget it, forget it. I'll ask privately later. Even if she refuses, I won't lose face."
The highway was blocked, and I only got off late at night.
(End of chapter)