"This magazine officially went on pre-sale last Saturday, and nearly 40,000 copies were sold during the pre-sale period alone, with pre-sales exceeding one million. Yesterday, when it went on sale, more than 20,000 copies were sold in a short period of time, far exceeding everyone's expectations. The distribution department is now preparing for a reprint, and it is estimated that the final sales of this issue will be around four million."
Liu Rulan rattled off the data, but Xiao He's eyes looked utterly lost.
Huh? What number or quantity? I don't understand.
Only Xiao He understood the last four million, which meant that a lot of money was indeed sold.
But what does this have to do with him?
Xiao He didn't quite understand.
Liu Rulan was speechless and choked with emotion.
Indeed, sometimes it's best to keep things simple. If you speak in a high-sounding way, the other person may not understand what you're saying.
“That billion-dollar movie star is very impressive, but his audience is mainly middle-aged and elderly people. These people don’t have a strong desire to buy magazines, and you could even say they don’t pay any attention to them at all,” Liu Rulan could only explain. “Usually only young people would buy them like that, so your fans made up the majority of the magazine buyers this time.”
In other words, the magazine's sales were entirely driven by Xiao He's fans—Xiao He wasn't even on the cover; he was just an invited interviewee, and his official studio didn't do any extensive promotion. It was purely the fans' own doing.
Xiao He finally understood what Liu Rulan meant, and then looked shocked: "Huh? My fans are so rich?"
Wow, his fans are so rich!
This reminded Xiao He of the last time someone auctioned off photos on his behalf. The person who did the auction asked for 100,000 yuan, and his fans readily agreed without hesitation.
It was only then that Xiao He belatedly realized something—
Perhaps his fans are really quite wealthy...
-
In a fan group of Xiao He.
【Waaaaah, who managed to snag the latest issue of CKOOL magazine? I'm going crazy! I've never seen so many fans here before! Why is it so hard to get one? I'm so fed up! Everyone's usually so quiet, I thought nobody was around, turns out they were all lurking around!】
【I missed out on the official pre-sale, but managed to snag three books offline, hehe.】
【Successfully snagged +1! Even though I'm a seasoned fan, I still felt the pressure this time trying to get the magazine. I hadn't heard anyone else discussing it beforehand, so I thought nobody was going to try.】
【Oh? So you guys are still in the group? I thought everyone had switched to another platform.】
【How could that be? I'm still waiting for Xiao He to become a Best Actor winner, why would I leave?】
【I've been watching "The Shining Star" lately, but I'm hesitant to speak up, mainly because Xiao Ge's character is just too villainous, and I'm afraid saying too much will provoke public outrage.】
【No, no, this only shows that Xiao He acted well, it doesn't mean my brother Xiao is a bad guy.】
【To be honest, based on Xiao Ge's performance in "Shining Stars," I think he has a very good chance of winning Best Newcomer next year.】
【Just keep a low profile; there's no need to be secretive. Don't be like the neighbor, constantly and loudly boasting about their acting skills.】
【Group Admin: One warning: Please do not discuss other celebrities in the group, and please do not engage in disparaging remarks or inciting conflict. Otherwise, you will be kicked out of the group. Thank you for your cooperation.】
【I'm sorry, I was wrong, please don't kick me!】
【Help! SOS! Does anyone have a spare copy of the latest issue of CKOOL magazine they'd like to sell? My girlfriend asked me to buy it for her, but I couldn't get one, and I feel like I'm doomed!】
【Haha, well then I have to show off my magazine. 【image.jpg】】
Sitting in front of his computer, Zhou Bowen looked at the situation in the group chat and scratched his head in distress.
Zhou Bowen and Lin Zhuwan are a young couple.
The young couple had previously gone to the cinema to watch "Killing Life" together, and were deeply impressed by Xiao He, who played Zhu Laosan. Later, when "The Thief Catcher" was released, Zhou Bowen, who knew his girlfriend's interests, decisively invited her to watch "The Thief Catcher" together. Xiao He's portrayal of Shen Jue in the film impressed them both. Since then, they have been quietly following Xiao He's development and his upcoming projects.
Lin Zhuwan recently learned from her fan group that Xiao He will be appearing as an interview guest in the latest issue of CKOOL magazine. This will be Xiao He's first magazine appearance and his first issue as a professional. In a sense, this means that he has made some connections with the fashion industry. If he develops well in the future, he may receive more fashion resources.
Given Xiao He's current development, it's practically impossible for him to receive more resources in the fashion industry or other resource circles.
After all, it's common knowledge that brand image is tied to public perception. These brands generally avoid the risk of negative associations. In other words, actors like Xiao He, who frequently appear in negative roles, will find it difficult to achieve the brand effect they desire and to project more mainstream values. Therefore, Xiao He will never appear on their desks when considering actors.
The most well-known similar situation is the "Fruit Phone Law"—"In all movie and TV dramas, the character who uses a Fruit Phone is always a good guy."
Although this rule is just a joke, it has become one of the ways for many drama viewers to judge whether a character is good or bad. It has even spread widely, and many people have heard of this rule even if they don't watch dramas.
Even closer observation reveals that, in most cases, fruit products have become iconic props for "highly intelligent characters" and "social elites," while other types of mobile phones represent the lower class and tradition, symbolizing instability and danger.
This is the penetration of brand marketing awareness.
This "symbolic association" has also extended to the actors themselves, especially Xiao He, a rare pure "villain" actor in the industry, which has given him even fewer options.
—Unless Xiao He can break out of his niche and truly separate the actor from the role, completely distinguishing the actor's value from the character's image.
But that's almost impossible. Actors and roles are inherently linked. To talk about actors without considering their roles is like ignoring acting skills altogether. How could that be possible?
Nevertheless, the fans' love remains pure, mixed with some unrealistic fantasies, hoping that through everyone's efforts, they can secure more opportunities and other commercial resources for Xiao He.
Even Lin Zhuwan originally planned to do the same.
Unfortunately, Lin Zhuwan has been busy with her team's experimental project recently and couldn't find the time to take the challenge, so this "difficult" task was handed over to her boyfriend, Zhou Bowen.
Zhou Bowen was completely unfamiliar with these things and had no idea that it was best to time your purchase beforehand. He thought it was just a normal time to buy them... But when he opened the webpage, the words "sold out" left Zhou Bowen dumbfounded.
Finally, having no other choice, he had to use his girlfriend's account to ask for help in the group chat.
Fortunately, there's always a way out; the administrator spoke up at this crucial moment—
【Qingtian Yunhe: I've received Xiao He's magazine! 【Image.jpg】*3. Showing off my Xiao He matrix image; this set of Western cowboy-style photos /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ is really great! Also, about 200 extra magazines will be randomly distributed in the group. If you're interested, feel free to message me.】
Zhou Bowen's eyes lit up immediately—
【Beep beep beep beep, save my life!】
【Me too! Thank you, Sister Yunhe! I love you so much!】
【Beep beep! I want it! I want it!】
