The Jieke Group's promotional campaign for the "Wedding Dress" movie quickly unfolded.
It started in Chan Country, the home base, where "Wedding Dress" received maximum exposure on television, the internet, radio, and offline, occupying a considerable amount of advertising space.
Then, in other countries on the Southeast Asian peninsula, under the tireless promotion of the Jieke Group, the name "Wedding Dress" appeared in all major news sections and entertainment supplements.
However, due to the limitations of Southeast Asia, the movie-watching habits of the people there had not been fully cultivated, and the box office in these places had always been minimal.
The Jieke Group had a plan; under Su Jie's instruction, the Hundred Ghost Film Company, specifically for the "Wedding Dress" movie, first announced a profit-sharing slogan. In addition to lowering ticket prices, they opted to give a larger share of the profits to the cinemas showing the film. They even set up some free cinemas, subsidized by the Jieke Group, where its enormous number of employees, counted in the millions, and their indirectly influenced families could watch the movie for free, providing a large viewership.
Following this, the Jieke Group launched a slogan encouraging moviegoers to draw great prizes with their ticket stubs, providing substantial incentives to stimulate the viewer base.
The wealthy Jieke Group didn't need to rely on movie box office revenue for a profit, as even the annual net profits from the global movie market combined didn't compare to the single company of Jieke Group.
With financial confidence, the Jieke Group offered various promotions with the goal of bringing more viewers into cinemas, enticing them to watch the "Wedding Dress" movie, thereby generating more emotion of fear.
After completing the promotion in Southeast Asia, the Jieke Group's promotional efforts didn't stop, and they began to extend beyond the peninsula.
The first were the neighboring countries of Southeast Asia, where local distributors and cinema chains chose to accept the collaboration with the Jieke Group.
Being close neighbors, they were even more aware of Jieke Group's influence in the region and were fearful of provoking the Group and bringing trouble upon themselves.
Even the authorities in these Southeast Asian countries, faced with the overt promotion of the movie by a Jieke Group subsidiary, chose to turn a blind eye.
It was just a movie after all; they found no reason to provoke the dominant power in Southeast Asia, the Jieke Group, over such a trivial matter.
Though they were all members of the Thousand Island Strategic Alliance, if possible, they still didn't want to be the ones to stand out and directly oppose the Jieke Group. Nobody was foolish enough to initiate direct conflict with the Jieke Group over a movie.
Hua Country, Shanghai!
The Shanghai Film Charity Gala commenced, and numerous stars and film company executives attended this significant event.
At the gala, a long red carpet was laid out, and one glamorous star after another, dressed in haute couture, walked on it, dazzling in their splendor while fans were shouting on the sidelines, drawing the attention of a large number of media photographers firing off their cameras.
Just then, a team appeared at the front of the red carpet.
The fans and reporters on-site were momentarily stunned, even those seasoned journalists accustomed to the entertainment world couldn't identify these people.
"Master, their cars are emblazoned with 'Wedding Dress' production crew; have we been shooting this movie in our country? I haven't received any news about it."
Reporter Xiao Fang curiously looked towards his Master, Elder Lin, who was a senior entertainment reporter with a keen sense of news.
Elder Lin pondered for a moment, then as if struck by a thought, said, "That seems to be a movie currently being promoted in Southeast Asia; if I'm not mistaken, it's produced by the Jieke Group, right?"
"Ah! The Jieke Group, that Jieke Group? Aren't they in pharmaceuticals? When did they switch to making movies?"
"Other than that Jieke Group, which one could it be? As for why they're making movies, what's so strange about diversified development these days?" Elder Lin said.
As Elder Lin spoke, the "Wedding Dress" crew had not yet walked the red carpet, and seemed to be waiting for something.
Following that, more cars continuously arrived, including the Wanda Group CEO, the Sect Leader of the promotion department, and the head of Shanghai TV Station...
One after another, these significant industry figures arrived at the scene, surprising the gathered journalists. Such high-profile attendance was rare at charity galas.
"What's going on, why are there so many big shots showing up?"
Xiao Fang looked puzzled, but his hands were quick, capturing the scene with his camera.
"There might be an important person coming for an inspection."
Elder Lin speculated. After about fifteen more minutes, a procession of cars slowly made their way over.
Leading the convoy were state-guest motorcycle escorts, followed by a series of red flag sedans.
The lively atmosphere at the venue gradually quieted down as all the stars, reporters, and fans couldn't help but turn their attention in that direction.
"What kind of protocol is this? Is a foreign head of state coming here?"
Elder Lin's breathing quickened involuntarily at the scene; this kind of treatment was typically reserved for state-to-state relations and only seen when a foreign head of state visited.
As the convoy stopped, guards in suits stepped out of the cars, and from one of the sedans emerged a man and a woman.
The man was dressed casually, with a composed and mild countenance, yet he carried the aura of a high-ranking individual.
The woman wore a well-tailored business suit, her figure curvy and well-proportioned, with soft long hair neatly tied at the back of her head.
This man and woman were naturally Su Jie and Liu Yingying.