Chapter 6 Anti-Traditional Marketing: Our Competitors Hang Our Banners Across the Street

Lu Jingming gripped the black iron lump, having just finished speaking.

Niu Dazhuang moved with lightning speed, pulling a rusty claw hammer from his pocket and slamming it heavily onto the wooden board.

"Young Master, the hammer is here!"

That rough, booming voice made the reporters in the front row shrink back in their seats.

This didn't look like a mobile phone launch; it felt more like a brawl on a construction site.

Lu Jingming didn't rush to smash the mobile phone with the hammer.

He unhurriedly fished a chipped presentation clicker from his pocket and pressed it toward the screen.

"Hum—"

The projection screen, which had been displaying "Specializing in Curing All Kinds of Dissatisfaction," flickered twice.

Then, three lines of bold, scarlet text in Song typeface slammed onto the screen like bricks.

No exquisite 3D renders, no flashy configuration parameters.

Just these three naked, dry selling points.

First line: Bulletproof. Second line: Can crack walnuts. Third line: One month standby time without charging.

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

Only the cicadas on the withered tree overhead were chirping desperately.

A few seconds later, a roar of laughter erupted in the abandoned square, loud enough to lift the roof.

"Oh man, I'm dying! I actually thought it was some high-tech gadget!"

Brother Biao clutched his stomach, laughing so hard he slapped his thigh, his gold necklace jiggling wildly.

He pointed at the tattered screen, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Young Master Lu, was your brain kicked by a donkey? Isn't this just a blatant scam?"

Boss Liu rolled the walnuts in his hands, laughing until he doubled over.

"Young Master Lu, do you think we're still in the wartime era?"

He curled his lip, looking at the stage with utter disdain. "Bulletproof? Who in their right mind buys a phone to stop bullets!"

Several of his Huaqiangbei peers chimed in with sarcasm. "Exactly! And one month of standby time? Did you put a generator inside it?"

"I think this bankrupt factory is hopeless. They brought a piece of scrap metal here just to fool idiots."

The reporter with black-rimmed glasses shook his head repeatedly, his fingers flying across his laptop keyboard. He immediately updated his live-blog post on Jifeng Forum.

"The Stunt Is Here! Xinghai Mobile's Three Major Selling Points: Bulletproof, Walnut-Cracking, and One Month Standby!"

As soon as the post went live, the comments section was instantly flooded.

"OP, stop joking. Is this a phone or a military shovel?"

"Bulletproof, my ass! Why didn't he say it's radiation-proof too!"

"This guy is a marketing genius. He's throwing physics out the window just to clear his inventory."

The online buzz exploded exponentially, filled with onlookers waiting for a laugh.

Lu Jingming stood on the stage, unfazed. On the holographic panel before him, his 'Defense-Break' value was skyrocketing at a visible rate.

Although it was mostly just tens of points at a time, the sheer number of people made it add up fast.

Others laugh at my madness, I laugh at my competitors' lack of vision.

In 2007, with the sinking market still largely untapped, what the common people wanted was durability.

"Finished laughing?" Lu Jingming tossed the black iron lump in his hand, his tone remaining steady.

Not only was he not angry, but a hint of an arrogant smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Since my peers are so interested in our Xinghai products," he said, "I can't be stingy. I have to give everyone a little welcome gift."

He raised his hand and checked the cheap digital watch on his wrist. The timing was perfect.

Lu Jingming raised the microphone, his gaze sweeping over the crowd and landing directly across the street.

"Chu Xuan, have you picked the spot?"

The crowd below was stunned. Brother Biao stopped laughing and turned his head, following Lu Jingming's gaze.

Across the street stood the impressive main gate of the Bolang Mobile Phone Factory, right next to Brother Biao's own digital mega-store. They were the two most luxurious three-story buildings on the street.

At that moment, a skinny young man in a floral shirt with a middle-part hairstyle was perched on the railing of the building's roof.

This was Chu Xuan, the marketing genius Lu Jingming had dragged out of an internet cafe just two days prior. The kid's skills at spamming forums were truly top-tier.

"Boss Lu, it's all set!" Chu Xuan grinned, flashing a mouthful of bright white teeth.

He held a loudspeaker he'd scavenged from a second-hand market. As soon as he turned it on, the volume sent the sparrows in the nearby trees fluttering away.

"Boys, drop it!" Chu Xuan commanded.

Several young men wearing the blue uniforms of the Xinghai Electronics Factory suddenly released the thick hemp ropes in their hands.

"Whoosh—" accompanied by the sound of rough fabric cutting through the air.

Two massive red banners with yellow lettering, over ten meters long, plummeted vertically from the rooftop.

The bright red background was as piercing as two giant machetes.

It completely blotted out the blue and gold sign of the Bolang Mobile Phone Factory and the neon sign of Brother Biao's store.

The words on the banners were even more savage than those on the screen in the square.

The one on the left read: "Smash the Competitor's Plastic Shell, Buy a Xinghai That's Bulletproof!" The one on the right read: "Tired of Charging Every Few Days? Xinghai Has Better Standby Time!"

That wasn't all. At the very top of the gate hung a horizontal banner: "The Competitor Is Panicking."

As the wind blew, the two massive banners rustled, looking as if they were flaunting their power at the competitors across the street.

This reverse marketing tactic left everyone present stunned. The scene fell into a deathly silence.

Even the few punks with dyed yellow hair stood with their mouths agape, forgetting to whistle. What was this? This was a blatant slap in the face!

"Holy shit! That's brutal! They actually went to the competitor's doorstep to put up posters!"

Someone in the crowd couldn't help but shout at the top of their lungs. This completely ignited the powder keg.

Onlookers pointed at the banners across the street, laughing until they doubled over.

The walnuts in Boss Liu's hands clattered onto the asphalt and rolled into the gutter.

He pointed at the building across the street, his finger shaking as if he were being electrocuted. His fat face was flushed beet-red, looking just like a freshly boiled crab.

"Lu Jingming! You little bastard!" "Who the hell told you to hang those rags on my factory gate!"

Brother Biao was so angry that steam was practically rising from his head, his temples throbbing. The luxury entrance he'd spent 100,000 yuan to build was now completely covered by the words "Xinghai Bulletproof."

If this news got out, how would he ever show his face in Huaqiangbei again?

"This is madness! Pure madness!" Brother Biao slammed the steel pipe in his hand and roared at his underlings. "What are you standing there for? Get across the street and tear those rags down!"

A few of the yellow-haired thugs started running toward the street. Chu Xuan, sitting on the rooftop and swinging his long, thin legs, picked up the loudspeaker and called out leisurely.

"Brother Biao, don't bother." "I used industrial-strength glue to stick them to the wall. If you try to tear them off, you'll rip the paint right off your building."

"Besides, this is a paid advertising space, so it's protected by law."

That cheeky tone, combined with the echo from the loudspeaker, made Brother Biao so angry he nearly coughed up blood.

He pointed at Chu Xuan, unable to get a full sentence out for a long time. "You... you people are nothing but hooligans!"

Lu Jingming stood on the wooden board, listening to the "ding" of the system notifications in his mind. The effect of this in-your-face maneuver was simply perfect.

His 'Defense-Break' value instantly surged past the 100,000 mark and was still climbing rapidly.

He tapped the microphone with satisfaction, looking down at the furious alliance of competitors.

"What's wrong, bosses? Are the slogans not eye-catching enough?" Lu Jingming raised an eyebrow, his tone filled with mock concern.

"Should I have my team work overtime tonight and add some marquee lights for you?"

"Stop playing these tricks with me!"

Boss Liu was so angry his heart was palpitating, and he strode up to the stage. What kind of press conference was this? This was clearly using them as props, stepping on their faces to build hype for Xinghai!

"Lu Jingming, don't think you can make a comeback with these cheap tactics!"

Brother Biao gritted his teeth and shoved the onlookers aside. He glared viciously at the black prototype in Lu Jingming's hand.

"With that piece of scrap metal in your hand, all the hype in the world won't do any good!"

"The common people aren't fools. Who's going to buy a brick just to keep it at home?"

The reporters nodded in agreement. No matter how flashy the marketing was, if the product was overpriced, it was doomed to fail.

In an era where everyone was chasing thin, light, color-screen phones, this bulky model had no chance of survival.

"You've been talking so much nonsense today; give us a price!"

Brother Biao stuck out his neck, his eyes cold and vicious. He was convinced that this piece of junk would never sell.

"I want to see which sucker you're planning to scam with this thing that wouldn't even be worth its weight in scrap metal!"

Boss Liu chimed in with a sneer. "That's right! Name a price! If you dare to sell it for over a thousand yuan," he declared, "I'll eat that red brick right here in front of all the media!"

Lu Jingming looked at the competitors below, who were jumping with anxiety. He gripped the microphone and slowly raised one finger.

"Want to hear the price, do you?" he asked. "Fine, but you'd better stand steady."

He didn't announce the price immediately, instead sweeping his gaze over the expectant reporters.

"Before I do, I need to prove one thing."

Lu Jingming turned his head to look at Niu Dazhuang, who was still squatting to the side, looking dazed.

"Dazhuang." "Huh? Here, Young Master!"

Lu Jingming weighed the black iron lump in his hand, his tone nonchalant. "Bring me the hammer." "Boss Liu seems to have strong teeth; I have to oblige him today."