Reborn 92's Business Tycoon

Chapter 354: Magazine distribution

On the fifth day of the first month of the new millennium, a magazine named 'Forward Position' was officially published. On the same day, copies of the magazine were mailed to well-known companies, universities, research institutes and think tanks around the world with specific addresses.

At present, the magazine only has two versions, Chinese and English. Apart from the advertisements, the content of the two versions is exactly the same. The English version has no advertisements, while the Chinese version has Zhitong Company, which Feng Yiping has used his position for personal gain to put in. There is no shortage of flattering words about this small software company with less than 100 programmers.

Of course, in China, the enterprise software applications developed by Zhitong, although not many, can be considered high-quality products. However, Zhitong is now completely incomparable to those international giants, so after much consideration, it was decided not to include it in the English version, so as not to affect future advertising negotiations.

Bao Zhuoyuan led the magazine's managers and personally loaded the first batch of magazines to be distributed into the car. Everyone was full of hope, just like parents sending their children off to war.

'Alright, we've done our best. Next, all departments must stay on their posts and pay close attention to market response. Department managers, as arranged previously, will go to the distribution office to collect the magazines and personally promote them to those companies in Hong Kong.'

The first issue of such a serious magazine is unlike those they have done before. They cannot expect local distributors to do the job, and they don't want to use a very low price to distribute the magazines, lest it lower the magazine's quality.

In terms of distribution and promotion, although Feng Yiping did not ask them to do so, Bao Zhuoyuan still wanted to do more. A dozen supervisors, each going to twenty companies to promote the magazine, would be able to leave an impression on a few hundred companies.

He himself was no exception. These days, when he had time, he would call at the office and tirelessly promote and introduce the magazine to those companies with which he had had previous contact and dealings.

Gao Yiming, who is in charge of distribution, has the heaviest workload today. He bears in mind Feng Yiping's request: this inaugural issue is to learn from those current Internet companies, spend money without restraint, cast the net widely regardless of cost, and give away hundreds of thousands of magazines for free—this refers to giving them to direct customers, not giving them away for free to those sales outlets. As long as one in a thousand people can read it, then he reckons he will have to consider setting up branches around the world next, either taking charge of distribution or waiting for those distributors to come to him.

Of course, it wasn't completely without income. A few publishers were still a little interested, but influenced by Feng Yiping's determination to succeed or die, the magazine company was very firm in terms of the issue price. When signing the agreement, it was made clear from the outset that sales at a discount were not allowed, and another very important point was that back issues were not accepted!

With such a strong attitude, of course it is impossible to achieve much. In the end, those few distributors only purchased a total of more than 5,000 copies, with each copy priced at HK$15. In total, the revenue was less than 100,000.

On the eighth day, Feng Yiping drove to the train station and mentioned that 500 copies of the magazine had been sent from Hong Kong. Gao Yiming had sent someone to bring in these magazines in several trips, filling up the trunk and backseat.

Unpacking one of the packages, the inky-smelling magazine is revealed. The cover design still follows Feng Yiping's personal style, which is simple and elegant. The cover is an abstract illustration of the topic of the Internet bubble, with a summary of the key content.

The preface is very brief, but the content is very comprehensive. It briefly outlines the outlook and predictions for world politics and the economy in the new millennium, followed by Feng Yiping's article on the Blue Ocean Strategy, and then a detailed discussion of the content mentioned in the forefront.

For example, Feng Yiping is optimistic about the world economy this year. Why? And he is certain that the Internet bubble is about to burst. Why? He predicts that the Green Party will replace the Blue Party in power this year. Why?

...

The opinions are very clear, and the arguments are very detailed.

The editors of the magazine were most worried about this. When the final draft was being prepared, many people approached Bao Zhuoyuan and said, 'Isn't it inappropriate to have such clear-cut and decisive opinions? What if these conclusions are wrong?'

Bao Zhuoyuan had expressed similar concerns to Feng Yiping many times, but Feng Yiping was unmoved. He insisted that he would not interfere with anything else, but that in the future, the first issue of every year would publish an article with an outlook and forecast on all aspects of the year, and his opinion on the content of the article would be the final opinion, and no changes would be allowed.

The boss was so determined, so what could he do?

When he arrived downstairs, he called Jin Ling. 'Jin, come downstairs, I have something good for you!'

'Like I'd believe you, I'm busy!' Jin Ling said, annoyed. She had officially taken up her new position after the meeting, and Feng Yiping was now free. She was really busy.

But after a while, she came down anyway. 'Where's the stuff? If you're lying to me, hmph!' She demonstrated by moving her arms and legs a bit. 'I've been worried about not finding someone to practice with these past two days.'

'How dare I lie to you? Look, I've worked my heart out on the inaugural issue. I can give you up to 50 copies, which is worth at least HK$10,000. That's pretty generous! I also strongly recommend that you collect a few copies. They'll definitely appreciate in value in the future. Or, I can sign a few for you!'

Jin Ling can now block out his self-aggrandizing words very well, and she picks up a magazine to flip through on her own. As the president, the magazine will also be under her jurisdiction, so it is normal to care about it. At the same time, she is also a little curious about what is so special about this magazine that Feng Yiping is making such a big deal about while keeping such a secret?

She quickly skimmed the preface, and articles like this one were nothing new to her. Of course, that was now, if and when all of Feng Yiping's assertions were proven correct, that would be a different matter.

Then she was immediately captivated by the article describing the Blue Ocean Strategy. Feng Yiping had mentioned this article the last time Gao Yiming came over, and at the time she felt that Feng Yiping was being pretentious. Now, after just a few minutes of reading, she had to admit that, in the eyes of a Harvard Business School graduate, Feng Yiping's solemn manner at the time still made a certain amount of sense.

If this short article of a few thousand words is taken as a quotation, and if the follow-up content can maintain this level, she reckons that there would be no problem with passing the Harvard Business School doctoral thesis defense if this is used as the thesis.

'Do you have any examples?' she asked, concerned. The proposition of such a theory, without the support of examples, always seems too weak.

'Of course there are, but I'm not the only one who can do this kind of thing. I've already arranged for some people to analyse and study several representative companies and cases according to my requirements, and I'll mention them in subsequent articles, which will also be strong supporting evidence.'

'Okay, I'll send twenty copies to my father, give thirty more to acquaintances, and keep a few for myself.'

Having successfully dealt with an official's second generation, Feng Yiping took the initiative to call Zheng Jiayi again, 'Hello, classmate sitting behind me!'

'Hello, Boss Feng!' Zheng Jiayi had now seen through Feng Yiping's secretive nature and was unconcerned by his harmless flirting.

'Beauty, I've troubled you many times. Although I didn't say anything, I feel bad about it. It's just that it's the end of the year, so to express my gratitude, I'd like to give you a little present.'

'Oh, is the sun shining from the west? Okay, I won't ask why. I'm very happy that you're so grateful. Can I ask, is it cash? Clothes? Cosmetics or something? Just to be clear, I don't want a shopping card from your convenience store.'

'I know you're joking with me, mentioning material things like that. It's so out of character for your elegant temperament. So what I'm going to give you is spiritual food.'

'Have you published another novel?' Just now, Zheng Jiayi was also joking about the things she had mentioned. If Feng Yiping really gave her those things, she would really be a bit embarrassed.

'More or less. I have made great efforts to start a magazine. I hope you can be one of the first readers. Of course, I also hope to get Mayor Fang's opinion. At the same time, I would also like to ask you to give a few copies to the heads of the School of Economics and the School of Management at your university.' Feng Yiping was not at all embarrassed to ask Zheng Jiayi for help now.

'Haha, I knew you weren't that generous. But, since I'm easygoing, you can send them over first. Let me just say that if I don't think your magazine is up to par, I won't do what you say. I'm not that kind of person!'

'Just kidding. Feng Yiping's products are always high-quality. You can rest assured. As long as they read it for a few minutes, they'll be hooked. I'll send you 50 copies first!'