Chapter 63: Angel Main Vocalist, On Stage!
After reading the content, Chairman Jiang immediately realized something. He closed the news articles and found Qu Fan's number, dialing it.
Even though it was already past nine and almost ten o'clock, Qu Fan answered the call after only a few rings.
"Chairman."
"Qu Shi Zhang (Director Qu), there are many trending searches related to IVE's 'Running Man' girl group special. Take a look."
"Chairman, please wait a moment." There was the sound of bedsheets rustling from Qu Fan's end, and then about half a minute passed.
"Chairman, I see it. There are many trending searches."
"Hmm, the popularity is high. You can help promote it, but be careful not to create a specific persona for Xiao Yuan."
Many people thought Zhang Yuanying was an ultraman fan, but Chairman Jiang knew well that she only watched ultraman because of her bet with him. Besides ultraman, she probably wouldn't recognize any other ultraman.
"You can have Yuan Ying memorize more content related to ultraman. I think creating a persona is feasible," Qu Fan said, looking at the news content.
"No," Chairman Jiang denied. "If she doesn't genuinely like it, relying solely on memorization can easily expose her. Rather than suffering a backlash when exposed, it's better to be straightforward."
Qu Fan pondered for a moment.
"Then what about you, Chairman?"
"What about me?"
"Do you understand ultraman?"
"What are you trying to do?" Chairman Jiang vaguely guessed Qu Fan's intentions.
"Actually, I've always felt that with your appearance, you could appear more in public. This would be beneficial for our company's promotion."
"What kind of boss would show his face in public?" Chairman Jiang frowned.
"You could emulate Chairman Lei from Xiaomi."
Qu Fan's single sentence shut Chairman Jiang down.
If a chairman worth hundreds of billions can do it, why can't you?
Alright, Chairman Jiang admitted he had nothing to say. But he still had some reservations about Qu Fan's suggestion to market himself.
"The company is about to launch IU, and Red Velvet is also on the agenda. If we market me too, will we have enough staff?" Chairman Jiang asked, puzzled.
"You are bound to the artists mentioned above. Bringing you up when mentioning them, or you bringing them up, will have the same effect," Qu Fan explained.
"It will affect my life, won't it?" Chairman Jiang added.
"It will. Because IVE and DM Entertainment's success are tied together, IVE's explosion in popularity has also brought positive feedback from fans towards DM Entertainment and towards you. Once we start marketing you, these fans will more or less pay attention to you, so you will also experience the treatment of half an artist."
Chairman Jiang leaned back on the sofa and rubbed his temples.
"If I agree to this plan, how much popularity can it bring to the company?"
"Achieving the level of Chairman Lei, where the person drives the product, requires the right time, place, and people. But achieving half of his effect, with some effort, is not difficult."
Chairman Jiang briefly weighed the pros and cons. He had already made a decision in his heart, but he felt it would be better to consider it for another night.
Decisions made at night are often regretted the next day.
"I'll give you an answer tomorrow at the company. For now, let's seize this wave of popularity for IVE."
"Okay."
Putting down his phone, Chairman Jiang stretched.
Chairman Jiang was quite conflicted. On one hand, he didn't really want his every move to be scrutinized by the public, but on the other hand, he had the desire to become famous and satisfy his vanity.
It was very contradictory.
In fact, his heart still leaned towards the latter. After all, he had never experienced the feeling of being in the spotlight as a public figure, and he really wanted to try it.
However, it's still the same old saying.
Decisions made at night are mostly more emotional. It's better to make a new decision tomorrow after his mind is clear.
"Time to sleep!"
...
The next day.
On the way to work.
At the traffic light, Chairman Jiang rested his elbow on the car window, lazily watching the red light count down.
The car's music, connected via Bluetooth, resonated. The sound quality of the Bose speakers was quite impressive, making it enjoyable to listen to.
"Because in ~ a thousand years later ~ ~"
The music stopped abruptly, followed by Chairman Jiang's phone ringing.
He glanced at the caller ID on the screen and answered the call.
"Hello."
"President nim, are you coming to the company today?"
"On my way." Chairman Jiang glanced at the warning light that had just turned green, lightly pressed the accelerator, and the car moved from static to motion.
"Wendy and her parents have arrived. I've taken them to the reception room. When would you have time to meet them?" Choi Ji-yeon asked.
Chairman Jiang's eyes lit up.
Sun Shengwan is here?
"Bring them to my office. I'm in Gangnam, I'll be there in ten minutes!"
"Okay."
Hanging up the phone, Chairman Jiang looked at the slow-moving cars ahead, pressed the accelerator a little harder, and the car, equipped with a 4.0T engine, instantly accelerated, speeding towards DM Entertainment.
In just over nine minutes, Chairman Jiang arrived at the underground parking lot of the office building where the company was located.
DM Entertainment, President's Office.
When Chairman Jiang pushed the door open and walked in, the three people talking in low voices in the office immediately stopped and stood up.
"President nim, these are my father and mother."
"Dad, Mom, this is Chairman Jiang Shu of DM Entertainment."
Sun Shengwan introduced them to each other.
Chairman Jiang looked at the middle-aged couple, who bore a slight resemblance to Sun Shengwan in their eyebrows, and nodded with a smile.
"Hello."
"Hello, Chairman Jiang!" Sun Shengwan's parents bowed to Chairman Jiang.
"Please sit down, both of you." Chairman Jiang said with a smile, then walked to the main single sofa that had been left empty for him and sat down.
"Regarding Wendy's debut, what have you decided?" Chairman Jiang asked with a smile.
"We have no objections regarding Shengwan's debut, but we have a question we'd like to ask Chairman Jiang." It was Sun Shengwan's mother who spoke; Sun Shengwan's father remained silent.
"Please speak." Chairman Jiang made a gesture for her to continue.
"We've looked at the operating model of your company's existing girl group, IVE. They seem to follow a 2+4 model, where the remaining four members don't seem to be given much importance." When Sun Shengwan's mother said this, Chairman Jiang understood her meaning.
"IVE's model cannot be replicated by every group." Chairman Jiang said with a smile. The double-C bond is not something just anyone can put together. Even Bae Joo-hyun, an S-card, doesn't have a C-position bond.
"The group Wendy will debut in is called Red Velvet. I've discussed this group with the person in charge at S.M, and we call its operating model 'Five Members, Five Colors'."
"This means that each member's unique characteristics will be highlighted, and there won't be a situation like IVE's, with two Cs plus four accessories."
Sun Shengwan's mother spoke more subtly, but when Chairman Jiang mentioned the other four members of IVE, he was truly direct.
"I see." Sun Shengwan's mother suddenly understood.
"Of course, it's inevitable for a group to have a C-position. This C-position will vary with each concept, and I cannot guarantee it will be Wendy."
"Of course."
They could understand this point.
Thanks to book friend Qianxiang Yunmo for the 100 Qidian coin reward!