Chapter 303: Reception promotion (Part 1)

'Great, Teacher Zhou Ming, Teacher Moore has finally agreed to give me the authorization for the convenience store in the dormitory of Clarendon College!'

Li Yang ran back to his dormitory and loudly reported his victory to Zhou Ming. At this time, Zhou Ming was sitting in the lobby. When he heard Li Yang come in, he also stood up happily and said, 'Have you already obtained the authorization? Classmate Li Yang did a great job!'

In the face of Zhou Ming's praise, Li Yang also said proudly, 'I am your student, Mr Zhou Ming, so success is inevitable. Teacher, I think that the dormitory convenience store will definitely make more money once it opens!'

Li Yang was feeling a little smug, but Ye Ning next to him immediately poured a bucket of cold water over him: 'Li Yang, you know that this is the teacher's credit? The teacher has already planned everything for you, you just followed the arrangements the teacher gave you and completed the work step by step. Everything was designed by the teacher for you, without any creativity at all, and it took such a long time. What are you proud of?'

Ye Ning seemed dissatisfied after saying all this, and she added in the end, 'Do you know what the teacher is doing here? He is already helping you plan how to advertise the convenience store in the dormitory.'

Li Yang was stunned for a moment, and then he saw the documents on the table in front of Zhou Ming. He then believed Ye Ning's words. Li Yang, lost in thought, took a step back, lowered his head, and felt a little frustrated.

He couldn't help feeling frustrated, because this was the first project he had completed, and it had not been plain sailing. At the beginning, he was still being fiercely opposed by Mr Moore, and was even not allowed to enter the Colland Academy. Later, he opened a gap through the warden, and finally persuaded Mr Moore to achieve this magnificent reversal.

He had put in an unknown amount of effort, and now that Ye Ning had said this, he just lost his temper.

Of course, if Ye Ning was just being sarcastic and pouring cold water on him, it would be fine, but the key is that he agrees with what Ye Ning said. He also thinks that without Teacher Zhou Ming, he probably wouldn't have been able to defeat Moore, and he might even have fallen in the first round.

So thinking about it like this, what right does he have to be happy?

It was these thoughts that caused Li Yang's mood to suddenly drop.

Zhou Ming saw this and stood up and said, 'Ye Ning, you shouldn't say that about Li Yang. He's actually done a very good job.'

Zhou Ming also walked over and patted Li Yang on the shoulder to show his encouragement, but Li Yang still shook his head: 'Teacher, you don't need to comfort me. I know I'm still far from you. Although it seems like I accomplished all this, in reality, you had already planned it out for me long ago. If it were up to me, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the ability to accomplish it independently. As early as when I was expelled by Mr. Moore, I had already given up.'

'I don't understand why you think this way. Do you really think you're a waste?'

Zhou Ming's question made Li Yang tremble. Although Li Yang did not think that he was doing well, he definitely did not think that he was a waste. However, when he looked up at Zhou Ming and tried to say that he was not, he could not say anything.

Zhou Ming then said to him, 'Of course you are not a waste. You are the vice monitor of my finance class, and you are an elite chosen from one billion people in the country.'

'But this time, for the convenience store project, I...'

Zhou Ming didn't let Li Yang finish, and interrupted him directly, saying, 'The dormitory convenience store project was the first project you were involved in, and it was also the first time you had independently completed such a heavy project. It's normal to be a bit inexperienced, but you still managed to pull it off, didn't you? This is also the most important reason why I chose you, because I believe you have this resilience!'

Zhou Ming added, 'As for me... Have you all forgotten that you call me your teacher? Since I am your teacher, and I have more experience than you, isn't it my job to help you more in these matters, to plan ahead for you, and to guide you to success? If I can't even do that, then I would be failing in my duties.'

Li Yang and Ye Ning were both stunned. As they listened to Zhou Ming's explanation, they felt as if something was wrong, but also as if everything was right.

Zhou Ming did not give them much time to react at this time, and he himself sat down with a big smile, saying, 'Okay, let's see what we should do next for publicity. I don't want my classmates to always dwell on the past. Moreover, publicity is not simpler than what we did before. I hope that we can be more proactive in our business, rather than passively waiting for customers to discover and come to our door.'

Zhou Ming's words made Li Yang and Ye Ning put aside other thoughts. They sat down. Zhou Ming asked them, 'I was just discussing this with Ye Ning. Li Yang, what do you think?'

Li Yang thought for a moment and then carefully replied, 'I think we can go to each dormitory to distribute advertising flyers after the dormitory convenience store opens, or we can ask Mr. Moore for the phone numbers of all the dormitories and we can call one by one to notify them.'

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'These are all very traditional methods, and they are all necessary, but the effect of such a wide distribution is difficult to guarantee. Perhaps many students will just throw them aside after reading them, and they will only go and have a look when they remember, for example, when they are hungry at night. But perhaps they won't even remember, and they will just remember that there is something there. This approach is too dependent on luck. I think what we need now is a way that will make the students remember in an instant, rather than gambling on luck.'

Li Yang and Ye Ning looked at each other, and both said that there was no good way. Zhou Ming had no choice but to ask again, 'For example, is there anything special about the Colland Academy?'

Zhou Ming's question reminded Li Yang, and he immediately said, 'Teacher, I remember, the biggest feature of the Colland Academy is that it holds wine parties. These wine parties can be wine parties, beer parties, or other parties. Some of them are organised by various groups, while others are organised by a particular student. The purpose of holding wine parties is to invite more students and enhance the friendship between students.'

After listening to Li Yang's answer, Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'Receptions are a great platform. We can completely host a hotel and then plant an advertisement for our dorm convenience store at the reception.'

'Host a reception and then plant an advertisement?'

Li Yang and Ye Ning were surprised, but Ye Ning remembered something and said, 'Teacher, I remember that your eight-treasure porridge advertised on CCTV Spring Festival Gala, and it was the exclusive title sponsor. But that was the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, watched by hundreds of millions of people across the country, and broadcast on TV and in the news. Now it's just a dormitory party, which is a far cry from that, isn't it?'

'If we look at the audience and influence, then it is indeed a far cry, but if we only look at the effectiveness of the advertisement, I think it is more or less the same.'

Zhou Ming explained to the two of them: 'Because there aren't many entertainment activities on campus, the reception is a rare gathering. And since foreign students really like doing this, it has become a trend. Especially since Harvard took into account the interests of each student when assigning dormitories, so basically everyone who lives in the Cleland College really likes to go to parties. So as long as we plant the convenience store's advertisement at the reception, it will be easy to guide them.'

Li Yang suddenly came to his senses. He waved his hand fiercely and said, 'That's right. Everyone at the Colland Academy really likes cocktail parties. Anything that appears at a cocktail party will become a trend. You're amazing, Professor, to be able to come up with this idea so quickly. I'll go find Professor Moore right away to discuss the cocktail party. I'm sure he'll support us!'

After saying this, Li Yang got up and ran out the door. Looking at his departing back, Ye Ning stamped her foot angrily and said, 'Why is Li Yang like this? So impatient, he went out to discuss the reception with Mr Moore without even discussing the specific arrangements for the reception. If it wasn't for you, Teacher, helping him, I don't think he could even get such a small thing done!'

This time, Zhou Ming smiled and said to her, 'You can't look at it like that. I actually think it's quite good. After all, if you don't do something, you'll never know how it turns out. Compared to before, when he was too afraid to do anything, this is much better. And since Mr Moore has already accepted his project for the convenience store in the dormitory, I'm sure it'll be easy to negotiate a small reception.'

Zhou Ming's words came true. In just 40 minutes, Li Yang brought them good news: Mr Moore had agreed to their application for a reception and would also apply for the use of the auditorium.

'Well done, then we can discuss the arrangements for the reception in detail,' said Zhou Ming.

'Yes, teacher, I will make the advertising placement perfect!' Li Yang said.

Zhou Ming shook his head, saying, 'I don't think so. I think it's best to focus your attention on making the party a success, because that's what everyone will be there for, not the advertising. And only a successful party will make our advertising shine. On the contrary, if the party makes everyone sleepy, what makes you think people will remember our dorm convenience store?'

Zhou Ming said this because he was reminded of those street promotion projects that were commonplace in later generations. Those promotions were all about frantically advertising products, with only a few programmes inserted in between, making everyone who watched them feel sick to their stomachs. The result was naturally very poor. It would be very good if only ten out of a thousand people who watched them could remember them. This was not what Zhou Ming wanted. What Zhou Ming wanted to get was a boutique promotion that most people would remember!

Li Yang finally understood. He bowed his head and said, 'Teacher, I'm sorry, it's me who didn't distinguish between the main and the secondary.'

'It's okay, it's not too late to think about it now,' Zhou Ming continued, 'but you'll have to take care of the reception yourself this time. I can't help you. You just arrange the program yourself based on the habits and personalities of your classmates at Collande College. However, my opinion is that it would be best to have more game-type programs so that everyone can interact. Only by getting most people involved can the atmosphere be the most lively.'

Zhou Ming paused at the end of his words before exhorting him, 'Li Yang, you must remember that your convenience store project at Colland College is the beginning of all our convenience store projects. Your success or failure directly determines the confidence of the students in this project. Do you understand?'

Li Yang's expression grew serious: "Teacher, I understand. I will do my best to make the reception a success!"