Evolutionary Superstar

Lin Haoren glanced at Fang Lihua suspiciously before answering hesitantly, "Probably at least 300 million yuan. These days, major productions require at least 300 million yuan in funding."

"However, A Thousand Lifetimes With You is a very popular title with a dedicated fanbase."

"If we really want to live up to the readers’ expectations, I’m afraid even 450 million yuan isn’t necessarily enough funding to bring the story to life," Lin Haoren said speculatively.

Fang Lihua’s eyes brightened at once.

"Xiao Ren, are you interested in investing in this production?" Fang Lihua asked.

"You must be joking, Director Fang." Lin Haoren smiled awkwardly and said, "I’m just a small-time food delivery guy. Even if I want to invest, I don’t have the capital."

As expected, Fang Lihua truly mistaken him for a potential investor.

Since that was the case, he had to clear it up.

After all, he simply didn’t have the capital to get involved as an investor. That 200-million-yuan shortfall was too big of a hot potato to take on.

"Ah? Is that so? That is my mistake, Xiao Ren."

Fang Lihua felt awkward after realizing she had been mistaken about Lin Haoren’s financial strength.

Even so, her curiosity did not dwindle much.

Surely Lin Haoren had other strengths for him to become Director Guo’s guest.

"Although I don’t have the capital to invest, I have a few ideas that might ease the shortfall in funding a little. Are you interested in hearing about them, Director Fang?"

"Oh? Let’s hear them, then." Fang Lihua smiled with casual interest.

"Alright, Director Fang," Lin Haoren confirmed.

"My first idea is to create a dedicated recording team and record day-to-day activities that may include but are not limited to actor training, rehearsals, bloopers, makeup transformation, and action choreography."

"As you know, we are currently in the age of big data, and internet consumption is extremely high. If we can package each day’s recording into episodes and release them on streaming platforms, we could potentially turn 4 months of grueling production into a variety show-style series and generate income from views."

"Since Director Guo disdains adding advertisements in the drama itself, we could add them here. Given the drama production’s big name, I believe that if we were to do this, it would still attract plenty of interested sponsors."

"More importantly, this variety show-style series will help the production build fan rapport, let viewers feel closer to the actors and production team, while also allowing them to see one of their favorite books come to life step by step."

"This method can not only help the production build a strong following and raise anticipation for the drama, but also receive constant feedback that may give valuable insight into the production."

"I don’t doubt the professionalism of Director Guo and the production team, but I personally don’t think it’s a bad idea to turn the entire fanbase into our think tank. Loyal viewers could also help identify any oversights or mistakes made by the production team and offer unique insights. "

"Although this might affect Director Guo’s creative vision, it ensures the production’s quality and faithfulness to the source material... Ahem, I’ve gone off topic."

Lin Haoren coughed awkwardly, realizing he had focused on too many details unrelated to generating funds for the production.

"Besides using a variety show-style streaming to draw in sponsors and build momentum for the production, the production team can also organize limited ticket sales for on-set viewing and tours."

"The production team could also consider negotiating deeper cooperations with costume manufacturers to advertise their products in return for using them. This could save the production team considerable costs."

Lin Haoren continued to list his marketing ideas one by one, each revolving around variety show streaming as the foundation for all revenue options.

With each new idea added, a complete, closed-loop marketing system was formed.

Fang Lihua originally wasn’t expecting too much.

However, the more she listened, the more shocked she was. These weren’t just casual thought-up ideas. It was a fully conceptualized and comprehensive marketing ecosystem.

First, attract viewers with the variety show’s streaming content.

Viewer discussions on social media then generate free publicity, building momentum to achieve viral popularity to attract sponsors and advertisers.

Funding from sponsors and advertisers could then improve production quality, and better quality attracts more viewers. Even merchandise and membership options were considered for additional revenues.

Fang Lihua had to admit Lin Haoren’s marketing strategy was very impressive.

However, the flaws were also very obvious.

"Xiao Ren, your marketing strategy is very good," Fang Lihua first praised before saying, "However, have you ever considered that if we follow this marketing strategy, we would be spoiling the drama while raising the viewers’ expectations to the high heavens?"

"Once the finished drama airs and they see nothing special, the backlash would be enormous. Moreover, the entire filming process itself is time-consuming and exhausting. Our actors and film crew won’t have the additional energy to spare for this variety show filming."

"Your concerns are reasonable, Director Fang," Lin Haoren acknowledged with a smile, then said, "This is why I suggested an offline recording instead of livestreaming."

"With offline recording, you can film and edit each episode as you wish. You can show what you want to show, and don’t show what you don’t want to show. As long as it’s interesting enough, viewers will still watch, even if it doesn’t reveal anything about the drama."

"This is why I also call it variety show-like and not an actual variety show. It’s just a tool to raise publicity and funds. As for how to implement the marketing strategy, that’s something for the production team to figure out."

"I’m just an aspiring actor who happened to have some ideas, not a professional marketing strategist. Let’s leave the actual problems to the professionals to solve," Lin Haoren said with a calm smile.

Fang Lihua was immediately dumbfounded by his words.

An aspiring actor with some ideas?!

Could any aspiring actor come up with such a comprehensive, closed-loop marketing ecosystem?! Who are you kidding?

Fang Lihua found Lin Haoren’s honest words hard to believe.

If Lin Haoren really was an aspiring actor, why didn’t Director Guo give you any roles? Isn’t he supposed to be Director Guo’s guest?

Even if his acting was terrible, he could still get the role of an extra.

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