"Gentlemen, thank you all for coming! Mr. Fang from Phoenix Culture Communication Company is a good friend of mine. Their newly launched 89.6 FM radio station is about to go live, and we hope you will all support them in the future!"
Xie Fangzhi said, raising his wine glass.
Although Lu Guoliang had unceremoniously taken the head seat, Xie Fangzhi was determined to give the opening speech. He was the one who had arranged this banquet, and these executives were there because of him.
"Haha! Director Xie, you're too kind!"
"Of course we'll take care of Director Xie's friend. It doesn't matter who we advertise with!"
"Director Xie, you're too kind! You've always been so kind to us. With your friend's company just opening, we'll definitely be there to support them!"
The executives present chimed in with their opinions, which was to be expected. Specific advertising contracts could be discussed later, but the attitude had to be respectful.
Besides, they had just received the promotional brochures prepared by Song Yi. Although Channel 89.6 wasn't very well-known yet, its advertising fees were significantly cheaper than those of provincial and municipal brand channels. If it performed well in the future, signing a long-term contract would be quite worthwhile.
They were all businessmen. While they wanted to consider Xie Fangzhi's feelings, they certainly wouldn't allow Chen Yang to pull off a scheme that would make them throw real money down the drain.
Almost everyone expressed their opinions, except for Lu Guoliang, who focused intently on eating a mantis shrimp. Only after finishing did he hastily wipe his greasy hands with a handkerchief, look up, grin, and say:
"Director Xie, President Fang, advertising is no problem, of course. As President Xie of Yuntian Real Estate just said, it doesn't matter who we advertise with, right? Our Qiankun Group spends tens of millions on advertising every year, so a few hundred thousand won't make a difference! But I have a question…"
As he spoke, Lu Guoliang kept glancing at Song Xiaoyun's reaction out of the corner of his eye, a smug look on his face. Anyone who didn't know better would think Qiankun Group was his own business!
In Lu Guoliang's view, conquering a woman relied on absolute strength. He believed Song Xiaoyun understood that compared to the behemoth that was Qiankun Group, that pretty boy's Phoenix Company was nothing but a tiny ant. The difference in strength was obvious. Chen Yang smiled calmly and said,
"Please go ahead, Mr. Lu."
Lu Guoliang, seeing Song Xiaoyun's still nonchalant expression, felt slightly displeased.
"Mr. Fang, I've seen your advertising quotes. A 10-second quarterly package costs 200,000 yuan. That's not cheap! Our Qiankun Real Estate advertises on the provincial music and traffic channels year-round, and their prices are about the same. But, if I may be frank, your company's 89.6 channel seems to have much lower brand recognition than the provincial channel! And I've looked at your advertising sales proposal; most of it is packaged sales. Is your company short of funds and therefore eager to recoup some investment?"
Although Lu Guoliang was addressing Chen Yang, his eyes were fixed on Song Xiaoyun's beautiful face, a blatant display of rudeness.
Seeing Lu Guoliang suddenly raise such a pointed question, the room fell silent. Everyone stopped talking, and Xie Fangzhi looked at Chen Yang with some worry, secretly regretting inviting Lu Guoliang. This was a case of good intentions gone wrong; they hoped to have another opportunity, but Lu Guoliang unexpectedly interfered.
At this moment, Song Xiaoyun suddenly spoke up:
"Mr. Lu, I am the director of Channel 89.6. I can answer your question. Regarding the package pricing, our channel's pricing is definitely the lowest in Rongcheng. The price for a ten-second quarterly ad on provincial and municipal channels is around 250,000 yuan, and that doesn't include prime-time slots like 8 AM and 8 PM. They sell these prime-time slots separately. Our package includes all the hourly slots, broadcasting 24 times a day, and the price is quite favorable.
As for your question about funding, Phoenix Company has ample funds and no problem at all. The reason we designed so many package deals is mainly for the benefit of our clients. With Channel 89.6's complete revamp, we are confident that we will capture more than 20% of the Rongcheng listening market within three months. At that time, advertising costs will certainly not be this high. Therefore, launching these package deals now is mainly to thank our long-term clients who supported us from the beginning!"
Song Xiaoyun's answer was neither humble nor arrogant, but reasonable and well-founded, cleverly avoiding the current reality of insufficient funds. In fact, one of their considerations when designing these packages was to quickly recoup their investment.
It must be said that Lu Guoliang's foresight was quite sharp.
"Over 20% of the listening market, Director Song is certainly very confident!" Lu Guoliang's gaze lingered unabashedly on Song Xiaoyun's graceful figure as he said with a smile, "But I believe in you. With a young, beautiful, and talented leader like Director Song at the helm, your channel's future is bound to be bright!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Director Lu," Song Xiaoyun said humbly.
Xie Fangzhi opportunely said:
"President Lu, Mr. Fang's team is young, but full of energy and has a lot of ideas. I've seen their channel's development plan, and it certainly has many highlights! Advertising on their channel now is definitely worth every penny!"
Lu Guoliang laughed heartily, glanced meaningfully at Song Xiaoyun, and said:
"Old Xie, I told you long ago, advertising is no problem at all! It's just a matter of a few hundred thousand or a million. Even if it goes down the drain, so what? With such a beautiful and charming director like Xiao Song, Channel 89.6 is worth the price!"
"Then thank you, President Lu, for your support of Phoenix Culture!" Sensing Song Xiaoyun's predicament, Chen Yang couldn't bear it any longer, picked up his wine glass, and walked over to Lu… Chen Yang said to Chen Yang, "President Lu, let me toast you, wishing us a pleasant cooperation."
Lu Guoliang didn't even raise his eyelids, and said with a forced smile, "President Fang, it's a bit too early to talk about cooperation now. There are still many details to discuss!"
After saying that, Lu Guoliang left Chen Yang aside and turned to Song Xiaoyun with a lecherous smile, saying, "Director Song, how about we find a place tonight to discuss our cooperation in depth? I, Lu Guoliang, admire talented and beautiful women like you the most. As long as we have a good discussion, investing one or two million in advertising a year shouldn't be a problem!"
Seeing Lu Guoliang's blatant disregard for Chen Yang and his overt flirtation with Song Xiaoyun, Song Yi, sitting opposite him, frowned, barely able to contain his anger. Chen Yang shook his head slightly at Song Yi, signaling him to calm down. Xie Fangzhi was both surprised and furious. Even high-ranking leaders like Guan Weiping and Kan Xufei treated Chen Yang with utmost respect; this Lu Guoliang was getting too carried away! However, Lu Guoliang was clearly someone Xie Fangzhi couldn't afford to offend, and he glanced at Chen Yang with some concern.
Chen Yang, however, didn't seem offended. He smiled faintly, picked up his glass, and returned to his seat, lightly clinking glasses with Wu Gang, the Southeast Regional President of Liefang.com, at the next table, as if the earlier unpleasantness had vanished into thin air.
In truth, Chen Yang's anger was already raging. If it were just a dinner for Lu Guoliang, Chen Yang would have stormed off long ago, but he restrained himself. After all, there were many other guests present, and tonight's task was to finalize advertising orders, not to vent his anger on Lu Guoliang.
As for what happened afterward, Chen Yang was determined to teach Lu Guoliang a lesson. Even Ning Kuncheng treated him with utmost courtesy, yet Lu Guoliang, a mere underling of the Qiankun Group, dared to act so arrogantly. Even more absurdly, he brazenly set his sights on Song Xiaoyun.
In Chen Yang's mind, Lu Guoliang was already dead. Chen Yang was generally magnanimous, but he had never been polite to those who offended him.
Song Xiaoyun, seeing Chen Yang get the short end of the stick with Lu Guoliang, felt her disgust for him reach its peak. However, she knew she couldn't show her emotions and had to feign compliance.
Xie Fangzhi stepped in to defuse the situation:
"Mr. Lu, how about we schedule a time for Mr. Fang to bring Director Song to discuss this further with you?"
Lu Guoliang's intentions were as clear as day, but Xie Fangzhi could only play dumb in this situation.
Lu Guoliang chuckled, ignoring Xie Fangzhi's words, and instead proactively raised his glass to Song Xiaoyun, saying,
"Director Song, I'd like to toast you!"
Song Xiaoyun's glass was already empty. Seeing this, she reached for the pitcher on the table to pour more wine, but Lu Guoliang grabbed it first, smiling, and said,
"How can I let a beautiful lady do it herself! Let me pour for you..."
Song Xiaoyun had no choice but to hold the glass with both hands and say softly,
"Thank you, Mr. Lu."
Lu Guoliang poured wine for Song Xiaoyun with a smile. The liquor glass was small to begin with, and Lu Guoliang deliberately shook his hand, spilling a considerable amount of wine from the pitcher into Song Xiaoyun's hand.
Lu Guoliang quickly put down the pitcher, grabbed Song Xiaoyun's soft hand, and ostensibly wiped it for her, but actually brazenly caressed it, saying:
"Oh! I'm sorry! Director Song, let me wipe it for you!"
Song Xiaoyun pulled her hand back as if electrocuted, hastily grabbed a few napkins to wipe it clean, her face flushed, and raised her glass to Lu Guoliang, saying:
"Thank you, Mr. Lu, I'll drink this first!"
Seeing Song Xiaoyun's embarrassed expression, Lu Guoliang's eyes were glued to her face, drool almost dripping from his mouth. After a while, he came to his senses and chuckled:
"Director Song, you have a good capacity for alcohol! Haha, I like straightforward women like you!"
He then downed his glass of baijiu in one gulp.
Lu Guoliang put down his wine glass, glanced sideways at Chen Yang, and said:
"President Fang, I truly envy you! With a capable assistant like Director Song, the company's rapid growth is just around the corner!"
"Then I'll take your kind words, President Lu," Chen Yang replied indifferently.
If it weren't for the feelings of the other guests, Chen Yang wouldn't have bothered with this arrogant fool at all.
"President Fang, talent is rare, you'd better keep a close eye on him!" Chen Yang's attitude was cold, but Lu Guoliang wasn't about to stop there. He continued in a joking tone, "Even I'm tempted to poach him from your company! If Director Song were willing to join us, I guarantee your income would multiply several times, and you'd even have a chance to receive a company housing bonus!"
This was blatant provocation! Chen Yang's face was ashen, and he was on the verge of losing his temper. Seeing this, Xie Fangzhi quickly gave a signal to the other executives nearby. They immediately understood and stood up; some went over to toast Lu Guoliang, while others began chatting with Chen Yang.
The earlier unpleasantness was temporarily masked, and the sounds of clinking glasses and lively conversation filled the private room once again.