King of the Wilderness

Chapter 446: Chapter 246: The Explosive Chain Reaction

"I haven’t finished yet!" Marcus’s voice grew colder, "Do you know who released this news? Do you think we’re the only ones focusing on Lin Yu’an?"

"According to the information I received in Stockholm, the founding team of Mountain Rat held an online meeting overnight. The core topic of discussion was how to reach Lin Yu’an. They believe the spirit Lin Yu’an embodies perfectly aligns with their brand philosophy!"

"And this!" He pointed to another email, "Our Norway branch reports that Old Man’s Head is already in action! They’re planning to invite Lin to be the chief experience officer for their ’Trollveggen (Devil’s Wall)’ series climbing gear next year! They’re even willing to buy a mountain for him in Norway!"

Marcus turned off the projection, plunging the conference room into suffocating darkness, with only his icy voice echoing.

"Mountain Rat, Old Man’s Head, our old rivals, are coming at us like sharks sensing blood! And we, due to a stupid data-based evaluation, nearly pushed our branded friend into the arms of the competition!"

He took a deep breath, seemingly suppressing a raging fury.

"Fortunately," he said slowly, with a hint of resolve in his eyes, "we still have an advantage. The brand ambassador contract with Lin Yu’an through Bilibili doesn’t officially expire until January 1, 2022."

"We have... three days left to turn this around."

He looked up, facing everyone present, and issued an indisputable command, word by word.

"Now, I want you to do three things."

"First, the legal department, immediately draft a ’Global Brand Ambassador’ level contract. Three years duration. Endorsement fee, 8 million dollars per year, after tax! Includes independent rights for image and work use agreements! No requirements for updates and live streams — what we’re offering is absolute respect and freedom!"

million dollars per year! After tax!

That figure exploded like a bomb in the deathly quiet conference room! Everyone present audibly gasped; this was the rate for top sports stars!

Finally, the always silent Chief Financial Officer, a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and appearing meticulous, couldn’t help speaking.

His tone was cautious, but the questioning was obvious: "Marcus, I understand the significance of this incident. However... 8 million a year, after tax, isn’t this offer too... too aggressive?"

"Our annual budget doesn’t allocate such a high amount for any individual. And... if I may say, he’s merely an influencer in the Asian market, can his impact justify such a sky-high global contract? We need a more prudent data model to evaluate..."

Marcus didn’t even turn to look at him, merely let out a contemptuous snicker from his nose.

"Data model? Evaluation?" He slowly turned around, his blue eyes glaring at the Chief Financial Officer, and retorted, each word laden with suffocating pressure.

"Labeling him as an Asian market influencer is the second disastrous mistake you’ve made today. Haven’t you seen the traffic analysis in the backend? It’s Justin Bieber who sparked this event! It’s Instagram! It’s Twitter!"

"Can’t you, you fool, see that over seventy percent of his new core users are from North America and Europe? Using geography to limit his value is inherently an unforgivable stupidity!"

Marcus pointed sharply to the YouTube backend screenshot on the projection, "You talk to me about data models? Well, then let me talk to you about data! Look closely! 81 million views, an estimated revenue of 285 thousand dollars! This is data from three days!"

"You fool who only understands financial reports, calculate with your damned calculator what this means?"

He didn’t give the Chief Financial Officer the chance to answer, instead roaring self-answering: "It means, purely from this one video, he can easily surpass a million dollars in ad revenue per month!"

"That’s 12 million a year! The 8 million we offer buys out a top-tier traffic generating over 10 million dollars annually! Do you still think that’s high?!"

The Chief Financial Officer’s face instantly turned from questioning to ashen.

"You’re foolish enough not to see this, fine!" Marcus’s fury further escalated, stepping forward and pounding on the table with his finger, making a "thud-thud" sound, his eyes seeming ready to shoot flames.

"But why would you be so foolish to forget, he’s Chinese!"

"China!" He almost shouted the word.

"We’ve spent hundreds of millions over the past five years trying to unlock this planet’s largest and most promising luxury goods market! Haven’t you forgotten the ’China strategy’ emphasized by the board annually?!"

His voice was filled with undisguised and highly insulting sarcasm: "What? Did you leave your damned strategic vision in your wife’s bra?!"

The sentence landed like the most venomous slap, fiercely hitting the Chief Financial Officer’s face, turning him pale and making even his lips tremble.

In the conference room, everyone else paused their breath, yet no one dared to counter or raise new doubts.

"A perfect brand image that resonates with both Chinese and North American consumers! A cultural bridge that allows us to capture the Chinese market effortlessly!"