Chapter 96: Putting on an act
News of the magazine's success spread far and wide through Zhan Hua's dinner. Su Can and Lin Guangdong's Pineapple Media had unquestionably fought a classic, beautifully executed advertising and marketing campaign.
Zhan Hua himself wore many different hats. He was a celebrated investor in China, with investments spanning a wide range of fields. The companies in which he held stakes or controlling interests formed a group with a presence in many industries.
These included parts of the media industry. It could be said that capital bearing Zhan Hua's name ran through the veins of several major media groups in the Yangtze River Delta. Zhan Hua was also involved in some government-backed energy companies. The thirty years of reform and opening up had included a rare period of stable, free economic activity, during which a large number of people became the first in China to grow wealthy. Now, as times changed, resources and opportunities were coming under invisible control and supervision, and Zhan Hua needed to maintain close ties with the government more than ever. His skill at working every angle had made him the investor, financial figure, and even fashion-world figure he was today.
So, in fashion and entertainment circles, Zhan Hua still counted as a "star."
The advertising impact of someone like that was beyond question.
Although Zhan Hua's reputation played a role, there was no question that any celebrity had to generate a "talking point" to turn the so-called celebrity effect into something tangible.
Su Can winning a dinner with Zhan Hua was entirely different from Zhan Hua inviting Su Can to dinner. In the latter case, even if Zhan Hua hired an advertising agency to hype it up, there was no way he could get magazines, with their tireless pursuit of