Chapter 108: Sky-high Advertising Fees

When Jiang Heng was filming "The Matrix" in 97, he was unknown, so naturally no one asked him to product placement.

The content and style of films such as "100 Million Years BC", "Lion Camel Ridge", and "Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother" are not all suitable for advertising placement.

When Pacific Rim was being made, some businesses did approach us, but they probably didn't have enough confidence in the world's first mecha special effects blockbuster, so their offer was not very high and we ultimately failed to reach an agreement.

This time, Samsung (China) Company simply wants to get a bargain.

With the audience base brought by the first "The Matrix", as long as the plot of the second part is not too outrageous and the special effects are the same as before, it is basically a sure thing that the box office will be a big hit.

The positive impact of advertising placement in the film can also be predicted.

It’s just that Jiang Heng’s film was produced independently this time, and the production started quietly in the mainland, so powerful international big-name manufacturers were delayed in getting the news and didn’t rush in.

In fact, after learning that "The Matrix 2" had started filming in a low-key manner, many international brands had the idea of ​​product placement.

But apart from Samsung (China), the first company to come over was Lenovo Computer, which Jiang Heng never expected.

In the temporary office of the crew of The Matrix 2 at the China Film Digital Base, Yang Yuanqing and Jiang Heng sat opposite each other, took a sip of tea and said, "Our Chairman Liu has always admired Director Jiang, but he was not feeling well recently, so he was unable to come with us."

Jiang Heng laughed, "How can we trouble Chairman Liu for such a small matter as advertising placement? As long as the price is right, everything can be discussed!"

Yang Yuanqing's face froze when he heard this, and he muttered to himself, this kid only cares about money and not people, this is going to be difficult to deal with!

But the "patriotic card" must be played. "As for the price, we are willing to pay more, but the current computer market is highly competitive, especially for those international brands. The price war is fierce, and the profit margin of each notebook is very thin..."

Jiang Heng smiled, "Really? But I went to a computer mall to buy a laptop a while ago, and a friend who knows the business told me that the salesperson charged at least 2,000 yuan more. That's a huge profit!"

Yang Yuanqing looked unhappy, thinking that the salesperson was cheating him, what does this have to do with me, the manufacturer?
But I can’t say that, I sighed and said: “That’s the dealer’s problem, our factory profit is really meager…!”

Jiang Heng took a sip of tea and smiled without saying anything.

He is not a computer novice in this era, so how could he be fooled?

Yang Yuanqing then talked about the great significance of the rise of Lenovo computers, which made Jiang Heng yawn continuously.

"Well, that's it, President Yang. I support domestic products and hope that domestic brands can continue to grow. But from a business perspective, I am currently shooting two sequels to The Matrix 2 and 3. The production cost is about million US dollars. It's almost like I have invested all my wealth in it. The pressure to make a profit is huge.

I can choose Lenovo instead of Dell, HP and other brands when the quotation is the same, but as for big discounts, that’s out of the question!
I have to make sure I can recover my costs as quickly as possible before I can talk about other things!"

Yang Yuanqing was speechless after hearing this. He knew that special effects blockbusters cost money, but he never expected it to be so expensive.

Two hundred million, or US dollars?
That’s more than 1.8 billion RMB!
All your wealth?

He can't have invested all the money himself, that would mean he is really rich.

After thinking about some random things in his mind, Yang Yuanqing asked: "Then I wonder, what is the price Director Jiang wants?"

Jiang Heng held up two fingers, "Twenty million!"

"Twenty million RMB?"

"Of course!"

Yang Yuanqing shook his head slightly. With 20 million, he could use the money to make an advertising movie and do whatever product placement he wanted!
"It's too expensive, it's really too expensive!"

Jiang Heng smiled, "If Dell or HP came, the price might not be this high!" "I'd better think about it and contact you later!"

Yang Yuanqing got up and went back to the car to call Liu Chuanzhi.

"Director Liu, that guy may not look big, but he's actually very cruel. He dared to ask for 20 million for a few seconds of advertising. Even the highest bidder of CCTV is not as expensive as him!"

Liu Chuanzhi wondered: "Twenty million, why is it so expensive?"

"Well, he said it was the combined price for product placement in 2 or 3 films shot in a row!"

"That's a little more reasonable. Is there no room for negotiation?"

"I don't think so. He said he would invest 2 million US dollars in the two films. From what he said, it seemed that all of it was his own money. But from his attitude, he didn't seem to care much about product placement."

Liu Chuanzhi sneered, "He really made a lot of money, 200 million US dollars. There are not many companies in China that can come up with so much cash!"

"Yes, he has become a millionaire!"

Liu Chuanzhi snorted, "Promise him, isn't it just 20 million? We can raise the price of the same movie later, and we will make it back in no time. This movie will be released worldwide, and as long as the Lenovo brand is a household name, we will still make more money!"

"Okay, Mr. Liu, I'll go talk to him right away!"

Yang Yuanqing came back and said with a smile that he wanted to sign the contract.

Jiang Heng hesitated, "But, HP just called and is willing to place ads in two films for 30 million. I'm really sorry!"

Yang Yuanqing was stunned. It had been less than ten minutes and HP called him to say the offer price had increased by ten million. This must be a lie!
But he didn't want to miss the opportunity. After all, there are a limited number of blockbusters that can be released worldwide each year, and most of them are Hollywood productions.

Even if Lenovo was willing to pay to place advertisements in the film, it would be too late by the time it heard the news.

I finally came across a special effects blockbuster that Jiang Heng had that was suitable for advertising placement. If I miss it because of the price of ten million, I don’t know when I will get this opportunity again.

But if he were to take the initiative to pay an extra 10 million, he would easily be criticized by his opponents.

Yang Yuanqing thought for a moment and said, "Director Jiang, please give me two minutes, just two minutes, okay?"

Jiang Heng glanced at the Rolex in his hand and said, "Okay, it's really only two minutes. I'm still busy filming over there!"

Yang Yuanqing walked a few steps away, dialed Liu Chuanzhi's number, and spoke a few words briefly.

Lao Liu is worthy of being called the "godfather" among domestic business tycoons. He said halfway through the conversation, "Give it to him, sign the contract immediately, and transfer the money!" and then hung up the phone.

Listening to the beeping sound from his phone, Yang Yuanqing looked embarrassed and said immediately, "Hey, Director Jiang, do you have a contract template? Give me a corporate account and I'll have the money transferred to me!"

Jiang Heng laughed, "Yes, yes, I've prepared it a long time ago!"

After that, he ordered someone to deliver the drafted contract template. After checking that it was correct, both parties signed the contract and transferred the advertising fee.

"It's a pleasure working with you, Director Jiang. I hope both of these movies will achieve good box office results!"

Jiang Heng laughed, "Don't worry, Mr. Yang. I can't say how much more, but the global box office of the two films can be guaranteed to be more than a billion dollars. By then, even the audiences in Africa will be able to see the Lenovo logo in the film. Just wait and get paid!"

Yang Yuanqing thought, "If that's the case, thirty million isn't that expensive!"

(End of this chapter)