British writer

The Mirror is selling advertising space!

The news sent businesses in the UK and across Europe into a frenzy.

Is there any doubt about the effectiveness of advertising in a newspaper that sells an average of 100,000 copies a day?

Just rush and that’s it!

But after the news was released, "Mirror" fell into silence and did not even give a price.

Entrepreneurs are all scratching their heads as they wait.

However, they sent people to the newspaper office to ask, but all they got was a unified reply:

"We are coordinating, please be patient."

When I asked again, the clerk didn't say a word.

A week passed like this,

The time came to Sunday, September 16, 1901.

"Mirror" published a message in the corner of the front page, saying that a negotiation meeting would be held the next day at the Langham Hotel's business conference center to discuss advertising space, and 100 tickets would be released to those in need. Fleet Street Purchase.

Everyone was a little confused when they saw the word "purchase".

As a seller, you are obviously selling advertising space, so why do you still have to pay the buyer?

This is too outrageous!

What's even more outrageous is that a ticket costs fifty pounds, which is even enough to place an advertisement in The Times.

But even so, the tickets were sold out within minutes.

Those who are willing to pay for this include not only big business owners but also colleagues in the London newspaper industry.

They all wanted to see what tricks Lu Shi could come up with.

…

the next day.

Langham Hotel, business conference center.

Lu Shi sat in the side seating area, sipping Earl Grey, and watched the gentlemen in formal suits walking through the door.

There were a few old faces among them,

Editor-in-Chief of The Times, George Earl Bakker;

John Le Sage, editor-in-chief of The Daily Telegraph;

…

The two seemed to come together.

They came closer,

Saatchi smiled and joked: "Professor Lu, as the master, why don't you greet me at the door?"

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"Is that necessary?"

Saatchi couldn't help laughing, and then said: "It is really an honor for me to compete with a young talent like you on the battlefield of the newspaper industry."

Lu Shi had heard that the Daily Telegraph also wanted to start a tabloid newspaper.

But Saatchi was mature and prudent and decided to wait.

The result of waiting was that after witnessing the failure of the "Daily Times" under the "Times", he resolutely cut off the tabloid project.

There is no way, "Mirror" is too strong!

Lu Shi looked at Bucker again,

"Mr. Bakker, are you here too?"

"The Daily Times, as your direct competitor, of course needs to know ourselves and our enemies," Bakker said.

This guy is a cooked duck - all that's left is a tough mouth.

Lu Shi couldn't help but laugh,

"Competition? Is the Daily Times selling two thousand copies a day now?"

Critical hit!

Bakker almost vomited blood.

Unexpectedly, Lu Shi wasn't done yet.

"By the way, didn't The Times always deny its relationship with the Daily Times?"

Bucker's face was dark and he felt uncomfortable.

Lu Shi looked serious and said: "It just so happens that the sales volume of "Mirror" has been rising recently, and the production capacity can't keep up. Mr. Bakker, if your newspaper can't continue to run, you can give us the printing press."

This is a sincere proposal,

But in Bakker's eyes, there was no difference between it and ridicule.

He was very depressed, saying to himself how Lu Shi was completely different from other Chinese students studying abroad, and he didn't even know how to write the word "modest".

Saatchi looked on and tried hard not to laugh.

"Okay~Okay~"

With that said, he pulled Bakker aside and whispered: "Don't disturb others."

The two walked away awkwardly.

Lu Shi watched them go away,

Not long after, a white man in his fifties approached Lu and asked with some uncertainty, "Excuse me. Are you Professor Lu?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"yes."

The man was obviously startled, obviously not expecting Lu Shi to be so young.

He reached out his hand eagerly,

"Hello, I am Joseph Philippe, a watchmaker."

Just now, Phyllis heard that many people wanted to make friends with Lu Shi, but they didn't think about this young Chinese.

They felt that this young man should be a clerk at the Mirror. Because of his Chinese identity, he was taken care of by Lu Shi and got a job.

In fact, before communicating with Lu Shi, Phillip thought so too,

He just thought he should try his luck,

Anyway, idle is idle,

Unexpectedly, he actually got hit by it.

Lu Shi recognized the accent of the other party and asked: "I heard you speak English, which sounds like a mixture of German, French and Italian. And you are a watchmaker, so you are Swiss?"

Philip nodded,

"You're right, I'm French-Swiss."

When Lu Shi heard the other party admit it, he knew who the other party was.

Philippe,

When pronounced in French, the pronunciation of "pe" is so short that it is almost inaudible.

So, "Philip" sounds like "Feli."

Lu Shisui said: "You are the manager of Patek Philippe."

The declarative tone used in this sentence is very affirmative.

Philip was shocked;

"You...have you ever heard of Patek Philippe?"

In his opinion, this is almost impossible.

In Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, there was basically only one brand to consider for high-end watches -

Breguet.

In the watch industry, Breguet is known as the "King of Watches" and is also known as the "Father of Modern Watchmaking".

Because Breguet invented more than 70% of the technology in the industry, any brand of mechanical watch in the world has at least two technologies, inventions, patents, and devices from Breguet.

If you take away the parts that belong to Breguet, no watch will function properly.

In comparison, the current Patek Philippe is small and transparent.

Lu Shi explained with a smile: "I know about Patek Philippe because I heard that you have just transformed into a joint-stock company. This is not very common in the watch industry."

This is of course not true,

Lu Shi knew about Patek Philippe, which was of course influenced by modern information.

Phillip, however, did not doubt his presence and said with some embarrassment: "Well...actually we are still a family company."

Lu Shi smiled,

"A family company is better than a family workshop."

Unexpectedly, Phillip was very happy to receive a positive review and said, "Professor Lu, I just want to make friends with you this time."

Lu Shi understood.

As Qian Ning said,

"Lu Shi doesn't need to socialize, socializing will come to Lu Shi."

Like a mirror in his mind, he knew that Philip's purpose in coming to London was purely for socializing.

After all, Patek Philippe’s products, from wristwatches to clocks to pocket watches, no matter which one they are, can be afforded by ordinary people who spend three pence to read the Mirror.

What's more, there are maintenance fees for mechanical watches in the later period, and the amount is ridiculously high.

Advertising in the "Mirror" will actually lower the brand tone of Patek Philippe, so it is better to sell it point-to-point.

Philip lowered his voice,

"Professor Lu, I hope to give you a watch."

Lu Shi couldn't help but be a little surprised,

I thought the other party was going to sell the watch, but I didn't expect that it would be free of charge.

He asked: "Is it customized?"

Philip nodded repeatedly and said: "We have purchased the right to use the patent for chemically etched enamel dials. We can engrave your initials on the dial. Or maybe you prefer your pen name? I personally think 'Lu' Not bad."

Lu Shi joked: "The patent for chemically etched enamel dials? It should be Breguet's, right?"

"Ah this..."

Philip was very embarrassed.

Previously, he had visited the former British Prime Minister Robert Gascoigne-Cecil and wanted to give him a watch.

As a result, people didn’t like it at all.

In Cecil's eyes, only Breguet was worthy of the status of former Prime Minister and Earl of Salisbury.

Philip was helpless,

Since the dignitary couldn't figure it out, he wanted to settle for the next best thing, so he found Lu Shi.

Lu Shi is the brains behind the Mirror. His frequency of attending various high-end events may even be higher than that of some princes and nobles. He is also more likely to meet high-net-worth clients.

Giving him a watch is not necessarily less effective in advertising than giving it to Cecil.

Philip said: "Professor Lu, don't underestimate Patek Philippe. We have a precise timing device, and...well..."

He looked around,

At this time, many people had recognized Lu Shi because of the exchange between the two.

Everyone gathered in twos and threes, chatting and glancing over from the corner of their eyes, as if they were waiting in line.

Seeing this scene, Philip had to lower his voice,

“We also have the technology for double-second split-second timing, but it’s just not mature enough for the time being and we haven’t been able to apply for a patent.”

After speaking, he returned to normal volume again,

"To take a step back, Patek Philippe is also a watch for nobles. Our first customer was Hungarian Countess Kossowitz. You should know her story."

Lu Shi really didn't know yet.

However, the deeds of a countess are irrelevant.

He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and then said: "Mr. Philip, I must thank you for your gift."

To say so is to accept it.

Phillip suddenly became excited and his face turned red.

"Okay, okay! I'll go back and prepare the best movement and craftsman for you... No, I'll let Benassi make it for you personally. What etching do you want? Is it your initials or..."

Lu Shi raised his hand to interrupt,

"No. It doesn't have to be that troublesome."

Phyllis said "Huh?", not knowing what was going on.

Lu Shi said: "Mr. Philip, why didn't I notice you wearing a watch?"

Phyllis rummaged in her pockets,

"I brought a pocket watch."

He took out a pocket watch,

The gold case is engraved with the Calatrava cross star pattern, which is Patek Philippe's brand logo.

Lu Shi took it,

"Just give me this pocket watch."

Philip:? ? ?

Suddenly I felt like I was being robbed.

"Gu..."

He swallowed and said, "Professor Lu, the regulator of that pocket watch is engraved with 'J·P', which is my initials. According to the brand, it should be engraved with 'P·P'."

Lu Shi waved his hand indifferently,

"It doesn't matter."

Phillip was completely confused, but he had no choice but to say: "There are photos of my granddaughter in it, can you return it to me?"

"Photos of granddaughter..."

Lu Shi quickly returned it to the other party.

Seeing this scene, the people around couldn't help but talk,

"What kind of watch brand is that? I've never heard of it before. Could it be better than Breguet?"

"It shouldn't be better than Breguet. But if Professor Lu likes it so much, it must have its merits. It won't be too different."

"If I have a chance, I will...well..."

"how?"

"Hahahaha! Professor Lu likes to receive gifts, and I just happened to bring the company's products."

…

Entrepreneurs are waking up from a dream and showing their special abilities.

Sausages, perfumes, seasonings, light bulbs, igniters…

There's even beer on tap.

They were ready to make a move, waiting to finish chatting with Philip when they landed, and then came up to sell their products.

Unexpectedly, Lu Shi didn't give him a chance at all.

I saw him glance at the pocket watch in his hand, then snap it on and walk up to the podium.

"Everyone, please stop."

Instantly, the hall fell silent.

Lu Shi raised his voice and said: "Today, we are going to talk about the advertising sales of the Mirror. Different from other newspapers, our newspapers will adopt diversified advertising designs, including hard ads and soft ads."

Soft advertising?

No one present had heard of it.

However, just by looking at the name, we can tell that hard and soft advertising should be relative concepts with no clear definition or clear division of scope.

Everyone couldn't help but talk. ,

The venue was a mess.

Lu Shi then took out his pocket watch and showed the dial to everyone.

"You guys talk first, I'll give you a minute. I'll explain after you finish the discussion."

This sounds harsh,

But when the businessmen saw that Lu Shi was really keeping time and didn't look angry, they started to communicate with his left and right people in low voices.

Philip in the crowd looked at his pocket watch,

Faintly, he realized what the so-called soft advertisement was when he came out of the country.

The corners of Phillip's mouth couldn't help but curve.

Making friends with Lu Shi was really a very correct decision.

Patek Philippe may be able to spread its wings after today.

A minute passes quickly,

Lu Shi shook his pocket watch,

"Okay, the time has come."

He put his pocket watch into his pocket and then said: "The so-called 'soft advertising' is a form of advertising that integrates product information into the media. Its purpose is to make the audience accept the product unconsciously."

After hearing this long list of concepts, the businessmen at the scene were stunned, as if "Just because you are so beautiful" suddenly came to mind in the sky in the Paleolithic Age.

How could primitive people understand this? ?

Someone said: "Professor Lu, let the audience accept it unconsciously? Is this really possible?"

Lu Shi opened his mouth,

As a result, before he could answer, someone else asked: "Advertising must have two characteristics: high reach rate and long retention time. Can the soft advertisement you mentioned work?"

Lu Shi was ready to answer again.

Unexpectedly, the two people who asked the questions started to argue first.

"You do not understand."

"Why don't I understand!?"

"If, as Professor Lu said, advertising is integrated into newspapers in a covert manner, it will definitely remain in the audience's memory for a longer period of time."

"Fart, then I can also say that hard advertising can easily increase purchase intention!"

…

Both of them were blushing.

Lu Shi coughed violently,

"cough!"

Then, he patted the table to get everyone's attention to focus on him again, and raised his voice and said: "Everyone, in fact, I just conducted a soft advertisement."

The people present couldn't help but look at each other.

The discussion started again.

Suddenly, someone suddenly realized,

"It's a pocket watch!"

For a moment, everyone reacted and fell into deep thought, but the more they thought about it, the more interesting it became.

soft advertising,

Something!

Lu Shizhan smiled and said: "I have put it into practice as the saying goes, 'a hundred words is worth a hundred words, a sight is worth it'. Do you think this kind of soft advertising can make the audience accept the product unconsciously, as I said?"

The people listed are all people who have made great achievements in business. How can we not understand this?

Someone muttered: "So this is soft advertising. Speaking of which, it seems that many manufacturers are already using it. For example... um... Coca-Cola!"

The response was immediate,

"You also have a collection of Coca-Cola calendars?"

In 1891, the Coca-Cola Company began using wall calendars for advertising, and has continued this tradition for more than a hundred years.

This kind of wall calendar is of great collectible value. As long as the first issue of the Coca-Cola advertising wall calendar published in 1891 is well preserved, many collectors are willing to pay high prices to buy it.

Therefore, the softness and hardness of advertising are relative.

For modern people, advertising calendars are just hard advertisements.

But at the beginning of the 20th century, various PUA advertisements were popular, and advertising calendars that could penetrate into people's lives were soft advertisements.

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"So, do you understand?"

Saatchi asked below: "Can newspapers also run soft ads?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"Of course it is possible."

Saatchi raised his eyebrows, unable to imagine the relationship between newspapers and soft advertisements.

But the businessmen didn't give him a chance to continue asking.

Someone couldn't wait to say: "Professor Lu, don't be too pretentious. How much does an advertising space in "Mirror" cost? How much is soft advertising? How much is hard advertising?"

Lu Shi stretched out a finger,

"A thousand pounds."

The scene fell into silence,

"..."

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere was eerie, as if you could hear a pin drop.

Unexpectedly, Lu Shi hadn't finished speaking yet.

"One thousand pounds is the minimum price, the highest bidder gets it."