Chapter 80: New Endorsement

ungyeon and Yoona are very close, aren't they""It's alright, we've had dinner together, but we haven't interacted much." Ji Jingyuan shook his head and walked to the cheering car at the entrance of th..."Who is it"

Somi seemed to be in a good mood. Upon hearing what her good friend Sun Caiying had to say, she immediately perked up with interest.

Although the stage for their small outdoor theater was smaller than the main stage on the other side, there were still thousands of spectators. Even though it wasn't really their performance and they were just acting as Park Jung-hyeon's backup dancers, performing on a public stage in front of so many people and showcasing their dancing and charisma was still incredibly exciting.

Being on stage under the spotlight, with thousands of eyes watching, cheering, and supporting you is an exhilarating feeling that can only be truly understood by experiencing it. Even participating in a school talent show in junior or high school can make your heart race, let alone performing on a formal stage for a large audience.

This is also one of the biggest attractions of being an idol.

At this time, the seven members of the major group all had rosy cheeks, obviously even though the performance was over, the excitement from just now still lingered on them.

Sun Caiying's face was mysterious. She stretched her mouth and made exaggerated facial expressions with a hint of cunning. After teasing for a moment, she blurted out: "We saw the members of xo!"

She has a good relationship with somi, and knows that this little sister still pays quite a bit of attention to boy bands. She's very fond of the popular group EXO, so she'll definitely be interested when talking about this topic.

Although she also likes Big Bang, she even prefers their style a bit more.

"Jinji Where is it When" Sure enough, upon hearing this, Somi's eyes lit up and she grabbed her hand and eagerly asked.

And several members of the major groups nearby also caught attention, especially Zhou Tzuyu who was originally sitting quietly at the far end. She had just been lowering her head and twirling her hair, secretly listening to the conversation next to her. After hearing Sun Caiying's words, her round eyes rolled, and her gaze shifted over.

"Just outside our theater, around noon I think, we bumped into five of the EXO members. It seemed like Yuan was taking the others on a tour of the school. Isn't he a student at Yonsei University"

"Oh, I wish I had been there at the time..."

During our afternoon break, we went over there to have a look. Wow, you haven't been there in person and seen it, the atmosphere is really, jinjia...

Sun Caiying described it vividly at first, only speaking to Somi. But seeing that others were interested, she started sharing it with everyone.

"Did you guys bump into senior XOs during lunch" Park Jihyo quietly asked Lin Na-yeon and Yu Ding-yan beside her after listening to a few sentences.

Lim Nayoung didn't seem very enthusiastic. She just nodded listlessly with a blank expression, while Yu Deokyeon chuckled and responded. Both of them knew that Lim Nayoung had been deeply affected by something and became an anti-fan of Ji Kyeongwon and EXO. She often complained about and blackened them in private. Last time when the two top boy groups faced off directly, Lim Nayoung even supported BIGBANG because she disliked Ji Kyeongwon, and encouraged them to vote for BIGBANG to defeat EXO. As a result, after losing "one," she was depressed for a long time, her mouth wouldn't even turn up, and she didn't show her bunny teeth anymore. She just kept rolling her eyes.

They were used to it, but they couldn't figure out where this sister got such a deep hatred from.

But these two didn't mind, they huddled together and whispered: "Well, we chatted for a bit, right over by the audience seats outside the theater..."

A cacophony of voices filled the lounge, making it buzz with excitement.

Just as male idols and trainees often show interest in female idols and frequently discuss topics related to them, even ranking their looks from time to time, female idols and trainees do the same. Attracting attention from the opposite sex is always a topic of great interest, in a way, it's a mutual pursuit.

After chatting for a while, Park Jin-young still hadn't returned. However, under the head resident's call, ten or so girls started packing their things in small groups. Some went to the restroom, and after everything was ready, they went outside to wait for everyone to assemble before leaving together.

Apparently, Park Jeong-yeong is still very busy as the president. Today, on school anniversary day, this well-known alumnus also had several social events, and he didn't have time to come back and take care of his children.

Zhou Tzuyu and two Japanese line girls walked out from backstage first, carrying their bags and standing beside the stage waiting for others. At this time, the stage performance here had already ended. Staff members and college student volunteers were bustling about on and off the stage, tidying up various sound equipment, lighting, and other gear. It was quite lively for a while.

She wasn't very close to Nanami and Sazanami Minori either, she just stood quietly on the side blowing in the evening breeze, looking down at her feet that were gently rubbing the ground, as if thinking about something. Meanwhile, the two Japanese idols next to her whispered softly to each other in Japanese.

"Xiaoying, guess who I saw today"

"Which artist It's pretty normal to have so many artists coming to school for the anniversary. You met quite a few, right Looking at your expression... Could it be xo Ji-seong"

Just then, two faint female voices from nearby caught the attention of the three people. Their gazes unintentionally shifted over and they saw two female college students tidying up the venue. Judging by their clothes and name tags, they should be volunteers for this school anniversary celebration.

Another chance encounter with EXO...

Did they really go through the entire school

Besides Minami, the other two girls muttered in their hearts, but since it was boring now and no one else had come out yet, they pretended to be nonchalant and leaned in to listen.

"Bingo! It was Chi Jingyuan and XO. I ran into them at noon on this very field. He was showing some members around our school, and I happened to be there nearby. I saw him from afar and immediately rushed over for a chance encounter."

There was a clear hint of triumph in the woman's voice. Although Minami didn't look over, she couldn't help but smile faintly upon hearing it. She could tell it was just Li Meiyana, the fan of Ji Jingyuan who had been there at noon.

"Wow, is it really Ji Jingyuan I'm super excited to see him too. I heard from his classmates that he's amazing in person. It's a pity that I went to their department several times before but never saw him, I ran around for nothing... But speaking of which, it's really excessive, isn't it He's just a student like everyone else, but he doesn't come to school for classes almost at all throughout the year. It's because he's a popular idol, so the school is too lenient, right It's kind of unfair."

“That’s true to a certain extent, but I heard from others that the school’s requirements for Ji-yeong were actually quite relaxed. It wasn't because he was some big shot idol. Our school isn't like Dongguk University, a third-rate artist school. We have pretty strict requirements across the board. Plus, Ji-yeong entered in early 2012, when EXO hadn’t even debuted yet. He took a year off to debut later, and came back to school in 2013 when EXO was still struggling to gain popularity. So I think it really has little to do with his identity as an artist.”

"Well then, what's the reason for that"

“This is also what a senior told me. You know, when he came back to school in 2013, who sent him to class”

"Who is it"

"It's the Jinyuan Institution…"

At this point, Lee Mei-yen's voice dropped to a mysterious whisper, making the three girls pretending to look elsewhere but secretly eavesdropping all perk up their ears.

Originally, it was just a passionate fan expressing her excitement about meeting her idol. However, the things she said about Park Ji-hun's school life were surprisingly interesting. When you encounter such gossip, you really want to hear more.

Like Tzuyu, who was originally bowing her head and idly rubbing the ground with her feet, she unconsciously rubbed a few centimeters towards that direction as she rubbed.

"Really Did he personally deliver it" The earlier part was unclear, but at this point his tone noticeably increased, with surprise evident on his face.

"Yeah, I didn't believe it at the time either. So Chi Jingyuan is obviously not an ordinary person. Either he has strong personal connections or his family background is particularly good."

"Oh my..."

"So, it's really great that someone like him, a wealthy heir and top-level idol, is willing to come to school honestly. Plus, he's truly amazing. He's very polite and gives off a really good vibe. He's also very interesting. I'll show you his signed to... just one look, one sentence, and girls fall for him. I mean, how can he be so popular in a school like Yen Shi"

“You make a good point. I heard that although his grades aren't great, he always passed both the final exams and the make-up exams. And over the past two or three years since he started school, he hasn't gotten into any trouble. Now it seems he's doing pretty well... I heard that some other wealthy second generations have been causing all sorts of trouble, and even the teachers are afraid to discipline them.”

"...it's a pity I didn't see xo's stage in the afternoon..."

As the two volunteers moved out with their belongings, the voices gradually faded away, bringing an end to the gossip that had intrigued the three.

Although the stories we've heard aren't many, they're enough for a few people to savor for a while. Zhou Tzuyu couldn't help but glance in the direction of the two college student volunteers as they left, then turned back just a second later, bumping into Minami Minei who had made the same move.

"...."

She pursed her lips and smiled at Minami, but didn't say anything. She continued to lower her head and rub against the ground.

She, however, did not notice that Nanami Minai was looking at her with a gaze that was slightly complex. However, after glancing at her, the other party went back to whispering something to Minatsuki Kasumi, probably starting to exchange the exciting story they had just heard.

"Come on, hurry up! You're taking forever in the bathroom..."

At the same time, Lin Na-yeon's complaining voice came from a distance. Several girls walked over one after another from behind the scenes, talking and laughing as they reached the three people, making the place that had just been quiet become lively again.

Under the moonlight, a refreshing evening breeze blew over, making Zhou Tzuyu and Nako Yabuki's long hair flutter. It tickled their faces as it danced around them.

They reached out and gently brushed the long hair covering their faces behind their ears. Their eyes last scanned the surroundings of Yen-Shih University, then they turned around and left with the members and the staff who had come out to meet them.

………

In a conference room on the fourth floor of the ** company, Ji Jingyuan sat in his seat, leaning back and fiddling with his phone.

The school anniversary performance didn't have singing and dancing programs or award ceremonies like that. The performing guests didn't need to wait until the end. They could leave directly after their own stage performances. Many artists took on more than one school commercial performance, running between them was very busy.

...while EXO went to have a meal after finishing their stage, and then returned to the gymnastics stadium for a short rehearsal of tomorrow's concert.

Although it was still relatively early after all the activities ended, the company didn't arrange any more schedules as there was a performance tomorrow. Everyone was dismissed and allowed to return for some rest.

Just as Ji-yeong was about to head back, his manager Lee Seung-hwan called him over. After explaining a few things, he followed Lee Seung-hwan to the conference room alone to prepare for the meeting.

Since not everyone had arrived yet, Chi Jingyuan flipped through the documents in front of him and took a moment to browse his phone.

Because he is on leave today, this week's Music Bank is the first time he has hosted solo since he started collaborating with Seulgi. Right now, he is looking at the comments and reviews after tonight's broadcast of Music Bank.

"Irene is so beautiful! She's so cute! No wonder she's an idol who can get on the hot search with her looks."

Although Irene is very beautiful, I feel something is missing when she hosts alone.

"Oh, why hasn't Yuan come this week I only get to watch this CP once a week, and today I can't see it..."

I browsed through several comments, besides the rainbow farts praising Jennie's appearance, many viewers also expressed their dissatisfaction with Ji-Sung's absence. Although it wasn't very resentful, there was definitely some disappointment.

In just a few episodes, the two have attracted a lot of CP fans with their hosting style and tacit cooperation, and Pei Zhuxuan's popularity is rising at an astonishing rate.

Some of the comments are excessive. These viewers aren't even there to watch the performances; they're only there to see these two host and flirt, completely treating "Music Bank" as a weekly episode of "We Got Married."

Although I don't know what to say to these viewers, being recognized and supported is ultimately a happy thing.

After appearing on two episodes, Park Kyung-won felt that this fixed MC case was not a wrong decision.

The heat it brings is secondary, the main thing is that the weekly recording is very relaxed and makes people feel good.

"You came to our stage today, didn't you"

He was browsing the web when he suddenly received a text message. At a glance, just by looking at the font, without even seeing the sender's name, he knew it was from Zhou Tzuyu.

It looks like she must have heard about what happened to them today from someone else.

Just as I was thinking about how to reply, I received another message.

"Pointing Sniper (Smiling Face)"

This one was sent by Minami, and these two people seemed to have made an agreement beforehand as they both sent messages back-to-back.

Seeing Mei Nan's message, Ji Jingyuan blinked and pondered for a moment what she meant by sending over a song title.

But he wasn't given much time as, one by one, department heads and staff members entered the conference room. When the last person closed the door, it signaled that the meeting was about to begin.

"Yeah, a big star."

Ji Jingyuan quickly tapped on his phone screen. He first replied to Zhou Tzuyu, then slid to Nako's contact page and after thinking for a few seconds, sent a (smiling face) back.

Then he put his phone, which he had already silenced, back in his pocket, took a deep breath, and entered work mode.

This meeting is mainly to announce and discuss Chi Jingyuan's personal advertising and endorsement matters for the next period of time.

Since EXO's rise to fame, Park Bo Gum has remained a top-tier celebrity, his individual popularity exceeding that of the group in many aspects, particularly in advertising and endorsements. He is highly sought after by brands, and in recent years, especially last year, he has secured more endorsement deals than EXO as a whole.

Last year, the rankings of Peninsula artists' incomes went viral. He ranked second with 55 billion won. Even if the data isn't accurate, it's still impressive. Moreover, ** itself is well aware that while the data may be off, it's not far from the truth.

Because the revenue brought was astonishing, the company also arranged a dedicated department and personnel to specifically handle Chi Jingyuan's personal affairs, including itineraries, endorsements, and so on. This time is just to inform about the progress of some recent events.

"...In 2014, the company accepted a total of 34 large and medium-sized brand endorsements from various categories for Jingyuan, including 21 in Xia Guo and 13 on the Peninsula..."

"And as of this May, 26 contracts have already expired or are nearing their end..."

"...After our careful communication, out of these 26 brands, 5 ended their cooperation after the contract expired and hired new spokespersons. Another 3 stopped operating or no longer invited artists to be spokespersons due to reasons from the manufacturer or company. The remaining 18 brands all have the intention to renew their contracts, some of which we have already finalized, while the rest are still under negotiation..."

> Such commercial brand endorsement contracts are generally not signed for very long periods. As the party A, the product or brand manufacturer is relatively picky about various data and popularity of the endorsers. Usually, signing a one-year contract is more common. When the contract is approaching its end, the brand side will look at the sales and revenue data over this period to see how effective the endorsement campaign has been. If it is suitable, they will continue to renew the contract.

Of course, there are also long-term contracts signed for various reasons, but they are relatively less common.

So many endorsements that Chi Jingyuan took over last year are already expiring or about to expire. According to the company's statistics, most brands have a tendency to renew and are very sincere. His carrying ability should be quite satisfactory to the other party.

"...and there are a few more important endorsements that also need to consider your personal opinion. The most important one is the full-line endorsement case for LG's electronic products, which will expire in a few months. LG has previously conveyed their intention to renew the contract. We have made initial contact with them, and they expressed great satisfaction with the results brought by your role as the brand ambassador this year. However, we need to consider your personal views and opinions on this..."

A headmaster, holding a document in his hand, skillfully introduced it and then looked at Ji Jingyuan: "What's your opinion, Jingyuan"

" "

Chi Jingyuan was also looking at the data on the table, but remained silent.

Last year when he took this endorsement, he hesitated for a while between LG and Samsung. However, in the end, Samsung was just a single phone model, while LG offered the entire electronics line. Obviously, the latter's sincerity was greater, and the endorsement level was higher.

Although it was just an initial contact, LG's inclination is quite obvious. According to the statistical data we obtained, after you became their spokesperson last year, the sales of LG's electronic products in Southeast Asia, especially in Xia Guo and the peninsula region, saw a significant increase. Of course, we don't have access to the specific high-end figures, but it's clear that they are highly inclined to renew the contract and their sincerity is evident. If the negotiations go well, they should make considerable concessions in terms of endorsement fees and other aspects.

Seeing that he remained silent, the headmaster seemed a little worried and added:

“LG's full-line endorsement is the top tier case across the entire peninsula. Having it on your body brings many benefits to both you, as Jing Yuan, and XO. Therefore, the company's opinion is to prioritize renewal and not allow others to snatch it away. We have received news that several top-tier actors are very interested in LG's endorsement case.”

"Well, I understand, Mr. Li."

Then let's continue talking.

After some thought, Chi Jingyuan also nodded in agreement. Because the year-long collaboration had been very pleasant and the other party valued him greatly, he didn't hesitate too much.

And the other party is right, for top-tier cases like this, many people are just drooling with envy. Half-island artists are fiercely competitive when it comes to endorsements privately.

"Ok, we'll keep in touch." Li, the director, let out a satisfied sigh. A twinkle appeared in his triangular eyes as he smiled and took a sip of water before continuing,

... or some local Korean businesses, such as Hanwha Bank, Lotte Department Store, and Holly's...

>Another thing is that several cases from China, such as Tsingtao Beer, Dongfeng Yueda Kia, Chow Tai Fook and other brands have entered a renegotiation phase...

Chi Jingyuan was able to become one of the highest-earning artists in just two years since his debut, with a large number of high-quality endorsements being a crucial part of this success. This is due to his extremely high fame and popularity both within East Asia, particularly in Xia Guo and the peninsula itself, as well as his excellent image which has earned him the favor of many brands.

"...The brands that need to renegotiate their contracts recently are about these."

After some introductions and discussions, the renewal was finally settled. However, Li didn't seem to be done yet. He paused for a moment, his expression becoming somewhat strange, with both excitement and surprise in his eyes. Looking at Ji Jingyuan, he said seriously: “There’s one more important thing. A top-tier luxury brand from Europe has contacted us, and it seems they have a collaboration intention...towards you, Jingyuan.”

First published on the Traditional Chinese Novels Networkon has their own circle of contacts. After flying back from LA and officially establishing the crew in Seoul, the support vehicles sent to the crew have basically been non-stop.Like Park Shin Hye, a s...