“Tianjiao is finally starting its promotion.”
Liang Dan gathered a few people around, the computer screen paused on Wen Ying’s blog page. Wen Ying’s two recent posts had sparked significant attention, with click counts steadily rising, indicating a surge of new netizens.
“Tianlin’s drama trailer has been airing for a week, and we’ve held several offline events. I thought Yuan Fenghui was truly unfazed, but it seems she couldn’t hold back after all. I just don’t know which day in July they’ll set for *Galaxy and You*’s premiere. It looks like they’re sticking to their old playbook: hyping online to whet the audience’s appetite, then pairing it with TV channel promotion… Tianjiao does have some skill in online marketing.”
Liang Dan’s tone was heavy.
Tianjiao’s knack for online promotion was proven.
Take their small writing contest—it broke out online, thanks to their internet marketing!
Tianjiao’s biggest online platform was the portal’s blog.
When blogs first launched, few saw their value; the portal even had to pay to get celebrities to join. But by 2006, blogs had become a vital exposure platform.
Including Wen Ying, Li Mengjiao, Yun Chen, and Zhang Yangning—dubbed the “Tianjiao Four” internally by the portal—had built thriving blogs with large followings, a nickname that spread within the industry.
Any post they made garnered impressive clicks, earning portal recommendations, which drove even more views, creating a positive feedback loop that set their blogs apart from ordinary ones. As of now, Liang Dan had only last year’s talent show champion who could compete with the “Tianjiao Four” in the blog arena!
One person wasn’t enough when Tianjiao had four.
Mr. Guan didn’t understand the chaotic world of internet forums and blogs. Liang Dan wanted the company’s artists to maintain blogs too, so Mr. Guan passed on his wife’s directive, even spending money on promoted exposure. After a brief spike in views, their artists’ blogs would drop back to normal unless Mr. Guan kept pouring in money—which was impossible. A short-term profit-driven man, he’d stop if there was no return. With a company this big, every expense had to be watched.
In 2006, traditional media like print, TV, and radio were at their peak, while online media was just emerging, still overlooked by industry insiders like Mr. Guan.
Unable to compete with the “Tianjiao Four” in the blog sphere, Mr. Guan gave up. Seeing their high blog traffic, he assumed Yuan Fenghui bought those views, privately mocking her as a fool with too much money.
Why spend it there when it could be spent elsewhere?
High blog traffic didn’t seem to translate to reality—Li Mengjiao and the others hadn’t landed more ads because of it!
Liang Dan saw further than Mr. Guan.
Blog popularity definitely had an impact. Tianjiao’s artists weren’t earning more not because they couldn’t, but because Yuan Fenghui deliberately controlled their exposure.
Liang Dan could guess Yuan’s intentions, but their approaches differed, and she wouldn’t emulate her.
Talent shows provided a steady stream of new talent for the company. If one batch didn’t make it, swap them for the next. Long-term nurturing plans for specific artists were too time-consuming and costly. After all that effort, they might jump ship for better opportunities—hardly worth it.
Liang Dan valued blog management for its tangible benefits: popular bloggers got book deals from publishers, higher performance fees, and, at the very least, a platform to maintain exposure, which was no small advantage for artists!
Unfortunately, after studying it, Liang Dan couldn’t crack the secret to blog success. What netizens liked in posts seemed random. A celebrity’s real-world status influenced blog clicks, but not entirely. Last year’s talent show champion broke through with rabid fan support, but what powered the “Tianjiao Four”?
Yun Chen and Li Mengjiao’s popularity made sense, even Wen Ying’s, but Zhang Yangning, with his modest fame, running a successful blog defied logic!
Liang Dan, swamped with work, handed the task to her husband, but Mr. Guan’s limited skills hadn’t cracked the “Tianjiao Four”’s traffic code.
Hearing Liang Dan say Tianjiao was reusing their “internet + TV” playbook, Mr. Guan was dismissive.
“Yuan Fenghui’s just relying on her same old tricks. She goes for online promotion, but we’re not pushovers. Netizens are easily swayed. Once Yuan releases *Galaxy and You*’s trailer, we’ll hire people to post online and tank its reputation!”
Mr. Guan thought netizens were gullible, a lesson drawn from Deputy Director Duan’s scandal.
Back then, netizens were riled up, clamouring to expose Duan’s identity. Duan had damaging posts deleted while publicly showing affection with his wife, Fang Ping, and it all blew over, didn’t it?
Sure, Duan was arrested now, but that had nothing to do with netizens—just his own stupidity in failing to placate his wife.
So, while Liang Dan took Tianjiao’s online promotion seriously, Mr. Guan brushed it off.
His gaze flicked to the computer screen and quickly away—anything tied to Tianjiao irked him.
Liang Dan gave up on discussing it with her husband, turning her attention to Yu Tianlin.
Yu Tianlin was much sharper than Mr. Guan, quick on his feet.
“Sister Dan, just say it. I definitely don’t want *Galaxy and You* to overshadow my drama. Whatever helps promote my show, I’m willing to cooperate with you.”
Handsome, well-spoken, and sincere, Yu Tianlin softened Liang Dan’s stern expression.
“Smearing *Galaxy and You* won’t do much. Black publicity is still publicity. It might not have much attention now, but if we hire people to post online, we’ll just boost its visibility, right? Strength comes from within. I’m thinking, Tianlin, could you take one for the team?”
Take one for the team—how?
Liang Dan wanted to stir up a scandal involving Yu Tianlin.
No matter how *Galaxy and You* was promoted, if public attention was drawn to Yu Tianlin first, Yuan Fenghui’s efforts would be futile!
Was a scandal that powerful?
Only if the other party was shocking enough.
Yu Tianlin hesitated, a rare moment. “Sister Dan, this isn’t trivial. I need to discuss it with my agent.”
