Chapter 596: Victory Celebration Banquet
"Senior, let’s head back first."
"But Junior Lu hasn’t come out yet..."
"No need to wait for him."
Guan Yongyi lifted her wrist, adjusted the short hair by her ear, and waved with a smile.
"He’s going to attend the program crew’s dinner tonight."
A few seconds later, the girl added three words.
"Celebration banquet."
On stage and off stage, like two distinct worlds.
In the first half of the debut night, Lu Jincheng was still laughing and joking with the members of the project team, pointing out the competition contestants on stage.
But by the second half, a staff member just leaned down and said a few words, and Lu Jincheng disappeared backstage, never to return to sit with everyone again.
Only that slightly louder title remained in the memories of Liu Yingying and Gong Guanyu.
"Mr. Lu."
Indeed, when he appeared again, the Lu Jincheng standing on stage seemed to grow more distant from the approachable Junior Lu.
In a suit and tie, with a meticulously styled hairdo, Mr. Lu imprinted powerfully on people’s minds.
...
"To success! Cheers!"
Meanwhile, in a private club in Star City, the atmosphere was lively.
This was the celebration banquet for the "Goddess 101" program crew.
With real-time data feedback, everyone present in the industry was acutely aware.
After years of replication, imitation, and introduction, China’s idol creation system finally had a fundamental transformation.
The question is, in the explosive birthing akin to a cosmic Big Bang, how many can avoid becoming outdated overnight, and how many media companies can survive.
This is a question harder to answer than the act of creating stars itself.
"Our program achieving today’s success really lived up to that Slogan—’Turn the tides against the wind, and grow towards the sun.’"
Sun Li, the chief director of "Goddess 101," raised her glass with a smile to everyone at the table.
This wasn’t just a current hot slogan in variety shows.
The scene of youthful girls overflowing with exuberance, accomplished managers of entertainment companies, and the entire program crew shouting this phrase together, was like a collective shout from China’s idol manufacturing system after years of exploration and practice.
"According to Maoyan Pro edition statistics, as of now, ’Goddess 101’ has accumulated over one billion views since its launch, and Weibo topic discussions have reached 38.746 million!"
"Unprecedented, truly unprecedented!"
China’s domestic talent show variety has gained unprecedented exposure.
And such a women’s talent show spectacle had not been seen since the "Super Girl" era over ten years ago.
In this star-making action, whether it’s the program’s features, companies’ participation and monetization channels, idol composition and exposure methods, or fan organization and participation forms, they are far superior to those of a few years ago.
Without a doubt, this is the result of a Big Bang stemming from the influence of capital, platforms, channels, and the market.
On one side is the tacit competition between management companies, with new forces like Golden Stone Media, Tianxing Entertainment, Banana Entertainment coming in strong, while iQiyi, Kuguo’s Guoran Sky, and Qigu Culture are gathering too.
On the other side are thousands of participating members striving ahead, entering this grand extravaganza with chances of success comparable to winning the lottery.
"Xiao Lu, I want to ask you, what were you thinking when you came up with this idea?"
Initially, Sun Li, who personally executed this program, was not very keen on the idea proposed by Douyu.
But Douyu’s side insisted repeatedly, with President Chen visiting personally, claiming that young girls "need an opportunity."
President Chen also had high praise for Douyu’s star Mou Keyan.
[In Mou Keyan, I see the new commercial value of idols in the new era.]
[Trust me, "Goddess 101" can definitely be done!]
President Chen reiterated the persuasion tactics used by Lu Jincheng word for word to Sun Li.
Indeed, the evidence that convinced Sun Li was Mou Keyan’s unparalleled monetizing ability.
In the eyes of industry insiders, the traditional assembly line method of creating idols had reached its singularity.
The limitless extension of tools like Weibo and live streaming has expanded the boundaries of star influence and changed the public’s lifestyle.
Moreover, content platforms led by Douyu, iQiyi, and Huya need differentiated content like PGC to maintain a competitive edge.
The outcome of the needs from all sides fueled an explosive growth in China’s idol creation system.
"Because I understand one thing."
Lu Jincheng smiled, raised his glass in a gesture, looking polite and modest.
The celebration banquet had two tables; the main table was for organizers, management companies, sponsors, and other core members of the crew.
The other table seated the ten honored and newly debuted members tonight.
"In this era, experience fades, arrogance fails, and those who win fans win the world."
"So, how do we gather fans?"
"We need a brand-new talent show to bring niche topics into the mainstream, making the [audience] become [users], participating in the content creation and even deciding the debut group lineup."
"Thus, it means they have a more direct fan-gathering channel than Weibo and live streaming platforms."
Saying this, Lu Jincheng paused and pointed to the other table, where the youths were enthusiastically toasting each other.
"Of course, I believe the greater significance of this program is that it can serve as a platform for interaction between fans and idol content."
"For instance, ’Goddess 101’ not only has the weekly main episodes, but also nearly 200 short clips of contestants every day, pushed out via Miao Yin, Weibo, Little Red Book, and other platforms to reach fans continually attract traffic."