The popularity of Lianliankan was undeniably massive, even surpassing that of the previous hit, "Angry Birds," by tens of times.
This wasn't an exaggeration. While "Angry Birds" had garnered significant online attention and involvement from celebrities, its inherent limitations and high difficulty led most players to try it only briefly. It achieved tens of thousands of dedicated players based on immense publicity and promotion, a figure derived from millions of initial attempts, resulting in a retention rate of less than 2%. This was a classic case of being well-received but not commercially successful.
Furthermore, "Angry Birds" had largely fallen out of favor. Even with professional gaming phones like Zhongmi, the highest achievable scores barely exceeded 1,500, making it incredibly difficult to break records.
Most importantly, once the hype on social media faded, no one was interested in such records anymore. Therefore, despite the impressive data released by the OO Mobile Game Center, the game had fallen into obscurity with little future prospect.
Lianliankan, however, was entirely different. Although the online buzz and discussion surrounding Lianliankan didn't even reach one-fifth of "Angry Birds'" peak, the game was genuinely fun. Crucially, its low difficulty made it suitable for everyone, allowing even individuals in their fifties and sixties to play a few rounds on their phones.
Another factor was the widespread adoption of Zhongmi phones. Zhongmi had already sold over 25 million units in the US, a staggering figure considering the US population of only 300 million. This meant one in twelve Americans had purchased a Zhongmi phone.
Consequently, Lianliankan's popularity surged on mobile devices, rapidly ascending to the top of the download charts on the OO Mobile Game Center.
Moreover, Zhongmi phone users included a large demographic of middle-aged individuals, naturally contributing to the game's rapid growth.
Since the Zhongmi phone's release followed that of the OO Mobile Game Center, all Zhongmi phones came pre-installed with the OO Mobile Game Center. Users could directly access and download games without the additional step of installing the game center itself.
It's worth noting that it was only at this point that news of Lianliankan's immense popularity reached Boss Huang, approximately ten days after the game's launch.
"Damn, I forgot about this game!" was Boss Huang's first reaction upon seeing the report.
Honestly, while Lianliankan had been incredibly popular in his previous life, it was his mother's favorite game, which made Boss Huang dislike it. He felt it was embarrassing to share the same hobby as a middle-aged woman.
However, the primary reason was that for a player accustomed to games like World of Warcraft and Warcraft III, Lianliankan was simply too easy. After playing a few rounds, Boss Huang had shelved it, losing interest.
Therefore, after his rebirth, Boss Huang had almost no memory of the game and certainly didn't consider replicating it. It wasn't until the game unexpectedly appeared before him that Boss Huang was taken aback, realizing he had forgotten about this gem from his past.
He was even more surprised that the game had surfaced on its own, presenting itself to him.
"This is the advantage of scale!" Boss Huang mused, reflecting on the matter. Since his company nearly monopolized the entire mobile game market, its vast scale meant that even classic games from his previous life that he had forgotten would naturally find their way to him.
This was also why companies like "Double Horse" developed so rapidly in later years. It wasn't necessarily due to the founders' superior vision, but rather that with a larger scale and more capital, profitable ventures would automatically fall into their laps, something that couldn't be envied.
Now, Boss Huang was experiencing firsthand the satisfaction of this scale advantage.
However, since Lianliankan had now presented itself to him, Boss Huang was determined to seize the opportunity to leverage the game effectively.
After careful consideration, Boss Huang summoned Hu Jing and stated directly, "Our promotion for Lianliankan is insufficient. Immediately contact Weibo and arrange for it to occupy the top spot on the trending list for ten consecutive days. Furthermore, allocate marketing and promotional resources on an A-grade scale."
"A-grade?" Hu Jing asked, a hint of surprise in her voice. As Jiangnan Group's product line expanded, so did the demand for marketing resources, leading to internal competition for these assets.
This also resulted in situations of marketing resource surplus or scarcity, causing significant internal friction.
Therefore, at the end of last year, under Boss Huang's leadership, the company implemented a marketing rating system that detailed product promotion efforts and required resources.
For example, it specified the number of times a product should trend, the timing of those trends, platform selection, and most importantly, the limits on various resources. This provided a standardized framework, preventing the waste of substantial internal marketing resources, as these marketing efforts and ad placements could be sold directly for profit through advertising networks.
Moreover, these strict standards also served to mitigate kickbacks and ineffective marketing practices. Boss Huang had witnessed firsthand during his previous work experiences in various companies how marketing personnel, in order to profit themselves, would intentionally choose platforms that appeared large but had extremely low advertising effectiveness.
For instance, some manufacturers' marketing campaigns had involved spending over ten million yuan on radio advertising.
Radio advertising sounded impressive and commanded high industry prices. However, advertising a mobile game on the radio was completely absurd.
Who listened to the radio?
Primarily middle-aged and elderly demographics. Would such individuals, upon hearing an advertisement for a mobile game, be inclined to play it? Absolutely not. This was clearly a case of collusion, where marketing personnel received significant rebates.
With the introduction of this marketing standard, detailed requirements were established for which types of products should be advertised on which types of websites and in what manner. Of course, for special circumstances, one could submit a report requesting ad-hoc treatment, but such applications typically required review by a vice president.
Naturally, not all products could be treated with the same marketing standard; priorities had to be established. Thus, a total of six marketing tiers were established: SS, S, A, B, C, and D.
The SS-tier marketing plan had only been implemented for the OO Mobile Game Center, personally designed and approved by Boss Huang.
The S-tier marketing plan had been used for Zhongmi phones, also personally approved by Boss Huang.
SS and S tiers had only been utilized twice. The frequency of A-grade marketing plans was also limited. Since its inception, only two products had received the promotional intensity of an A-grade marketing plan.
Now, Lianliankan was added to that list.
"Oh, and as part of the A-grade plan, add a directive for the OO Mobile Game Center to proactively send a push notification to all users, recommending a game and asking if they wish to install it. A simple click of 'agree' should initiate the installation!" Boss Huang added. Hu Jing blinked in surprise.
Although the push notification installation function was included in the development of the OO Mobile Game Center, Huang He was well aware of how intrusive such a feature could be to users. Therefore, he had imposed very strict limitations on its use, requiring headquarters' permission for activation.
In the half-year since the OO Mobile Game Center had been operational, this was the first time the proactive push notification feature was being used. This was a privilege typically reserved for S-grade marketing plans, yet it was being applied to an A-grade plan.
"Also, notify Zhongmi and all cooperating manufacturing enterprises that Lianliankan should be installed by default, similar to the OO Mobile Game platform. All newly manufactured phones should come with Lianliankan pre-installed!" Boss Huang continued. Hu Jing's mouth gaped.
This level of promotional push was typically associated with SS-grade marketing plans. For an A-grade marketing plan to receive features exclusive to S and SS grades was astonishing. Wouldn't it be simpler to just designate it as an S-grade plan?
Just as Hu Jing was contemplating this, she heard Boss Huang say, "Furthermore, have the marketing department draft an S-grade plan for me to promote the PC version of Lianliankan!"
"What?" Hu Jing was genuinely taken aback this time and replied helplessly, "Chairman, Lianliankan is a mobile game; it doesn't have a PC version!"
"I know, it's not particularly difficult. Have the technical department develop a PC version of Lianliankan as quickly as possible... I'll give them one week to produce a finished PC product, and it must be of high quality. Otherwise, everyone's salary and bonuses will be docked!" Boss Huang stated decisively.
"Chairman, this game wasn't developed by us; it's by an independent producer, and the copyright isn't ours..."
"That doesn't matter. First, send people to negotiate with the producer and purchase the copyright directly. Don't be stingy with funds; anything under one million is fine without my approval," Boss Huang said matter-of-factly.
"What if they refuse?" Hu Jing asked softly.
"Regardless, ask me for more money. If that's still not possible, then forget it. We'll just use a different name, like 'Super Lianlian,' 'Find Differences,' 'Finger Link,' or something similar. Legally, there won't be any issues; we'll just copy the game mode!" Boss Huang stated decisively.
Suddenly, he added, "Oh, and you need to apply for the relevant copyrights immediately. Also, dispatch people to monitor the market. If you discover any other company copying Lianliankan, sue them until they go bankrupt!"