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Chapter 113 An Ingenious Publicity Campaign

Chapter 112 An Ingenious Publicity Campaign

Hearing Mr. Wang sincerely say on the phone that it was a misunderstanding, Zhang Jun didn't press the matter further.

"Since it was a misunderstanding, it's good that it's been cleared up."

Zhang Jun spoke earnestly: "Mr. Wang, I believe that whether you're a person or a company, you must have a bottom line and a conscience."

Otherwise, if we humans have evolved to this point and haven't changed much from wild animals, wouldn't all that evolution have been for nothing?

""

"Director Zhang, you're absolutely right. I share the same thoughts as you. We should act with conscience." Mr. Wang expressed his strong agreement.

After hanging up the phone, Mr. Wang looked terrible. He had just been verbally and subtly insulted by Zhang Jun, who said he had no conscience, and the worst part was that Mr. Wang couldn't refute it.

If he could have a real-life duel, Mr. Wang vowed to beat Zhang Jun to a pulp to vent his anger.

However, Mr. Wang probably didn't expect that if a fight really broke out, he might actually be no match for Zhang Jun.

When Xiao Wang told his older brother about the results of his communication with Zhang Jun, the older brother was very pleased, thinking that his younger brother was sensible.

"Remember, the most crucial thing for the company right now is going public. Don't cause any unforeseen problems at this time," Boss Wang instructed.

Mr. Wang nodded, swallowing his anger: "I'll remember."

Fan Bingbing was overjoyed to receive the news that the film had been canceled. That very evening, she and Zhang Jun tried out many different positions.

"Do you men really like to keep souvenirs?"

Fan Bingbing exudes charm: "You can film me, I don't care, as long as you're the only one who can see it."

"???"

Zhang Jun patted Fan Bingbing's shapely buttocks: "Forget it, I don't have that kind of hobby. The beauty is right in front of me, you want me to look at those photos?"

I'm sorry, but I still think the real you is better.

Having said that, Zhang Jun immediately pounced on her, and Fan Bingbing was not to be outdone. The two engaged in an unspeakable battle, which lasted until the sun and moon were obscured and not a blade of grass remained.

Fan Bingbing went back to work. Although her adult films were gone, she still had some previous jobs and had to keep going.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jun's post-production for "Bad Genius" has been completed and submitted for review.

The subject matter of "Bad Genius" is very sensitive, involving issues such as the education system and social class. But Zhang Jun cleverly created a fictional city, treating it as a cubed version of Hong Kong Island.

With Zhang Jun now on the list, his films generally go through a fast track for approval.

Therefore, in mid-March, the chief scissors offered several suggestions for revision, and after Zhang Jun made the changes, "Bad Genius" was completed.

They then officially obtained the screening license.

Once the screening permit is obtained, it means that the film can choose a release date and begin large-scale promotion and distribution.

This year's release schedule is actually very favorable for "Bad Genius".

Most competitive films are targeting the Lunar New Year holiday season, such as Feng Xiaogang's "Assembly" and Peter Chan's "The Warlords".

Although there are already scheduled releases for films like "Transformers" and "Spider-Man 3" among this year's imported blockbusters, China Film Group will definitely allocate these Hollywood blockbusters to accommodate "Bad Genius".

After Zhang Jun, He Xuan, Jiang Tao, and others held two meetings to discuss scheduling issues, they finalized two dates at their last meeting.

One is June 15th, shortly after the college entrance examination, a time when students are relaxing.

The other is June 28th, a few days after the college entrance examination scores are released.

"I think June 15th would be a good date. Students have just finished their college entrance exams, and the memories of the exams are still fresh. Our film might be able to attract students to the cinema."

Jiang Tao clearly targets students, especially those who have just taken the college entrance examination.

He Xuan disagreed: "That's not appropriate. This timing is too risky. The college entrance exam has just ended, and the results haven't come out yet. Students are in a very anxious time."

If you release an exam-themed movie at this time, it could easily upset some psychologically vulnerable students.

If something else goes wrong, it will be very disadvantageous for us.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Jun said, "I agree with President He's opinion. June 28th is the best date. Once the college entrance examination scores are released, everything will be settled."

At this time of year, students are just looking for fun and games. Uploading this crime thriller about campus cheating, which is relevant to their lives, will definitely resonate with them.

After a pause, Zhang Jun said, "We can put some effort into publicity, such as mobilizing online trolls to stir up controversy, or displaying slogans on offline posters."

We can write something like this: watching "Bad Genius" after the college entrance exam is a way to say goodbye to a sweaty youth.

Or you could use a topic like, "How can you pass notes in class without getting caught by the teacher?" to attract high school graduates.

We don't even need to limit ourselves to high school graduates; college students and young people who have just graduated and entered the workforce a few years ago are all part of our target audience.

He Xuan and Jiang Tao thought Zhang Jun's plan was good and both agreed.

He Xuan said, "I will communicate with the publicity department to discuss a specific publicity plan. Zhang Jun, I'll trouble you to lead the publicity for the main cast's roadshow."

Zhang Jun nodded: "No problem————"

Guanzhi Pictures quickly got its publicity and distribution machine up and running, using not only conventional publicity methods but also many novel ones.

For example, the movie "Bad Genius" collaborated with Tencent QQ Space to launch a campaign on QQ Space, asking users to participate by discussing topics such as their most unforgettable experiences during their student days, the most nerve-wracking exams, and whether they had a crush on someone.

Tencent readily agreed to the collaboration. They were curious about the marketing plan for "Bad Genius" and found that QQ users were highly engaged after trying it out.

It's important to know that QQ users are mostly young people, which highly overlaps with the target audience defined by Zhang Jun. These people share common memories of their student days or are currently experiencing their student days.

Similar topics have sparked widespread discussion among these young people.

Some shared their experiences of skipping class to play basketball, and others about being caught by their homeroom teacher while going to internet cafes. Still others shared their thrilling experiences of almost getting caught by the proctor while passing notes to classmates during an exam.

Others took this opportunity to express their unspoken feelings of affection under this topic.

In short, I've had all sorts of diverse experiences.

In this process, the movie "Bad Genius" naturally caught the attention of these young users, who then became interested in it.

Assuming a million people participate in this event, even if only 10% of them are ultimately interested in the film, that's still a hundred thousand viewers.

Considering that people rarely go to the movies alone these days, these 100,000 people will bring at least 300,000 potential viewers.

Moreover, the number of participants far exceeded one million. According to Tencent, at least ten million people participated in related topics and activities during the first two weeks of the campaign.

Zhang Jun wasn't idle either; he started taking the four main actors—Yang Mi, Wen Zhang, Jiang Yan, and Wang Kai—to participate in the recording of some programs.

The first program I participated in was Hunan TV's flagship program, "Happy Camp".

Previously, Zhang Jun's film "About Time" appeared on the variety show "Happy Camp". At that time, the lead actors Chen Kun and Gao Yuanyuan were on the show, but Zhang Jun did not attend.

However, the four main actors of "Bad Genius" were clearly not qualified to have a separate episode of "Happy Camp" recorded, so Zhang Juncai went along, after all, the most talked-about person in this movie was actually him, the director.

Zhang Jun and the four lead actors arrived in Changsha a day early. The program host He Jiong treated them to a meal and took them to taste Changsha's local delicacies.

During the meal, He Jiong asked Zhang Jun, "Director Zhang, some investors have said they could invest in our film production. Do you think this is a reliable idea?"

Do you want to hear the truth or flattery?

"Of course it's the truth!"

Hearing He Jiong say that, Zhang Jun didn't hold back.

"In my opinion, you should cut ties with this investor. He's clearly using your fame to swindle money."

Making a movie isn't something you can just do by talking.

He Jiong hesitated for a moment: "I think the investor's qualifications are quite good!"

Zhang Jun said, "If you want to exchange reputation for money, Mr. He, you can choose to cooperate. But I suggest you don't take risks with your reputation, because it's not easy to build one."

He Jiong seemed to understand: "I understand."

The next day, "Happy Camp" was recorded at Hunan TV's studio. The audience consisted mainly of Hunan TV employees and their relatives, so no big stars came this time, but the atmosphere was still very lively.

On this program, Zhang Jun revealed the subject matter of "Bad Genius" for the first time.

"When people first see this title, they might think I'm going to make a movie full of gunfights, but that's not actually the case. This movie not only has no guns, but there aren't even many action scenes."

It's something that happened when we were in school, just exaggerated.

He Ling asked, "Director Zhang, we know you've been trying out different genres of film. What does this film mean to you?"

Zhang Jun said, "I think this is an attempt at a new genre. Nowadays, period dramas are very popular in Chinese cinema, leaving only comedies in the market."

I hope that audiences can see commercial films with a completely different atmosphere and pacing, apart from period epics and comedies.

He Ling was very perceptive: "I noticed that you keep using the term 'commercial film.' What's the difference between commercial films and art films?"

Zhang Jun explained, "I don't think there's any fundamental difference. It's just that commercial films are more mainstream, while art films are more auteur-oriented. There's no inherent superiority or inferiority between them."

Following Zhang Jun, several other actors also shared their feelings about participating in the film.

Yang Mi excitedly said, "This is the first time I've acted as the female lead in this movie. When director Zhang Jun gave me the script, I was immediately drawn to the story."

I was determined to do a good job in this movie.

He Jiong also revealed some behind-the-scenes details: "I heard that Yang Mi specially practiced writing with her left hand in order to play the role well. Yang Mi, can you demonstrate?"

"Can!"

The production team immediately brought over a table, paper, and pens, and Yang Mi wrote the title of the film, "Bad Genius," with her left hand.

He Jiong showed it to the audience: "As you can see, it is very neat, and you can hardly tell that it was written with a non-dominant hand."

This segment serves as proof of how hard the actors worked on set and how much effort they put into their roles, thus winning over the audience.

The interaction continued, and after playing a few silly and childish games, interspersed with interviews, the recording of this episode was successfully completed.

He Jiong also told the production team that this episode would air in early June, in line with the promotional schedule for "Bad Genius".