Chapter 582: Classic Battle

In 2006, Master Kong's brand image suffered a severe blow due to the scandal that its mineral water series products were sourced from tap water.

After the noisy "Water Source Gate," Master Kong had been struggling to win back the hearts of consumers, actively creating momentum to divert consumer attention in hopes of repairing the brand image that had suffered a heavy blow.

But facing the joint siege of numerous opponents, Master Kong could be said to have internal and external troubles and had to have a unique skill that could both pacify the internal and resist the external. It was just that what no one guessed was that this unique skill was actually the inconspicuous "Another Bottle."

In February 2009, Master Kong officially launched the massive "Another Bottle" promotion strategy. Such a grand gesture had never been seen in history—a brand launching giveaways equivalent to several times the market scale of the enemy.

Consumers soon found that winning was surprisingly easy, even to the point of being rampant. Just two months later, Master Kong had cultivated a market psychology where buying a drink without "Another Bottle" was unreasonable.

"Another Bottle" was no longer a simple promotional tool. Any follower had to weigh whether they had the ability to follow up with such large-scale giveaways. If the answer was no, consumers were very likely to ignore your product entirely.

Master Kong tea drinks, with a promised giveaway of 1.5 billion bottles and a 17% winning rate, were launched into the arena, interpreting "Another Bottle" as a weapon with many functions, including brand strategy, marketing poison, and industry barriers, becoming Master Kong's weapon of mass destruction for beverage products.

Master Kong became famous in one battle. After this classic battle, a world war of "Another Bottle" was set off in the entire beverage industry. In the face of this vast promotional scale, there were also cries of sorrow in the market.

The distribution channels of various manufacturers were even more overwhelmed by the mountains of prize-redeeming bottle caps. Many beverage companies even shouted loudly. If this trend continued, they would sooner or later be dragged to death.

But not following up meant watching their own channels shrink, eventually being eliminated. "Another Bottle" not only saved Master Kong from a crisis but also dragged all beverage companies into the quagmire of a world war.

This was a war of attrition, and what they were fighting for was financial strength. Master Kong tea drinks had a 20% winning rate, equivalent to selling all products at a 20% discount.

Among them, the PET bottle cost nearly one yuan, while the contents, operating costs, labor, transportation, and losses added up to less than 0.7 yuan. In this way, Master Kong had no profit.

But for Zhou Andong, this was not a problem. Because it was 1993, whether it was PET bottles, contents, operations, labor, transportation, or losses, the costs were relatively low, and he still had money to make.

As for Coke and Pepsi, with huge operating costs, investing a large amount of capital to acquire seven major beverage factories, plus the differences in formulas, if they also followed up, they would definitely lose money.

After 9:00 PM, the conference room door was finally knocked on. Zhao Hongxing shouted: "Come in!"

A middle-aged man and woman walked in. Jiang Yuping asked: "How is it?"

The woman's face was not very good: "Today, sales in the Beijing area fell by 2.7%. I think other cities are not very optimistic either."

The man said: "This is just the first day; tomorrow might be even more serious."

Zhao Hongxing sat there without saying a word, just looking down at the Iced Bing Hong Cha, the words "Another Bottle" on the cap, not knowing what he was thinking.

The bearded foreigner said: "I think we must report the situation to headquarters."

Kyle said: "Wait a few more days, then report to headquarters."

Zhao Hongxing looked up at the bearded man, then at Kyle, and said with a gloomy face: "Wait, let's wait and see."

They would never have thought that "Another Bottle" would be addictive. Its core trigger point lay in making consumers happy. Even if they didn't win, many consumers would buy a bottle with the mentality of giving it a try. As for whether they could eventually win, that was secondary.

This tactic, after reaching a certain volume, would have the strength to disrupt the entire beverage arena.

…………

Jiangzhou, Yuhai Hotel!

Originally, Jiang Yuhai wanted to open a hamburger shop, but after being scolded by Jiang Yuyue, his self-esteem was completely hurt. Ignoring his family's opposition, he opened this large hotel.

There was no other way; Jiang Zhengmin could only greet the leaders of various banks to support his son's restaurant. Coupled with the connections from Jiang Yuhai's previous unit, business exploded as soon as it opened.

This caused his heart to inflate rapidly, thinking that he was no worse than Zhou Andong at doing business and that sooner or later, he would surpass Zhou Andong.

But subsequently, the establishment of the Yugong Group, the start of the urban complex project, and the listing of Iced Bing Hong Cha caused his already inflated heart to leak like a balloon pricked by a needle, deflating rapidly.

Seeing Jiang Yuyue help Zhou Andong endorse Iced Bing Hong Cha, he didn't even get as angry as he used to.

It was his mother who was furious, calling Jiang Yuyue, but that girl wouldn't pick up, so she ran to him to scold.

At this time, Jiang Yuhai sat in a large boss chair, holding a newspaper and reading, with a big headline on it: "Zhou Andong is just a clown playing to the gallery!"

After a while, Jiang Yuhai put down the newspaper and stared blankly, his eyes unfocused, not knowing what he was thinking.

A long time later, he came back to his senses, reached out and picked up a bottle of Iced Bing Hong Cha on the desk, held it in the air and looked at it again and again, as if there was some treasure map hidden inside.

The office door was knocked on, and his wife, Wu Minwei, pushed the door and walked in. Seeing him holding the Iced Bing Hong Cha and looking at it, she said helplessly.

"You've been sitting in the office looking at it for half a day. A bottle of broken drink, what's so good about it? Customers are looking for you, but you won't go down."

Jiang Yuhai opened the Iced Bing Hong Cha and took a sip: "Don't say that, it's really quite good. You try it."

"I've already drunk it." Wu Minwei said: "Today, two tables of students came, and they all wanted to drink Iced Bing Hong Cha. We didn't have any, so they left. Then, I had someone go buy a bottle."

Jiang Yuhai put down the Iced Bing Hong Cha: "Order some Iced Bing Hong Cha tomorrow."

Wu Minwei was stunned: "But..."

Jiang Yuhai waved his hand: "There's no 'but'. We're in business; only a fool wouldn't make money."

Wu Minwei smiled: "It's good that you can think it through."

Jiang Yuhai picked up the newspaper and handed it to Wu Minwei: "You take a look!"

Wu Minwei took it and looked: "This Zhou Andong really doesn't stop. For this period, it's all his news."

Jiang Yuhai picked up a cigarette and lit it: "Tell me, will our country really surpass Japan and become the second-largest economy by 2010?"

Wu Minwei smiled and said: "Isn't it all said? He's just a clown playing to the gallery."

Jiang Yuhai didn't say anything more: "The guests have all left, right?"

Wu Minwei said: "They've all left."

Jiang Yuhai stood up: "Let's go. Mom called and said to come home after closing the door. I don't know what it's about." ===== CHAPTER 583 =====