The entire world was shocked by Jobs's actions. Although Little Swift had spent more money before, he had a close relationship with Jiangnan Group, so it was not entirely inexplicable.
But for Jobs to spend 10 million dollars was truly hard to understand.
Of course, for Jobs himself, spending money to save his life was the most reasonable thing in the world, especially when desperate. However, those outside didn't know this.
Naturally, they didn't believe Jobs spent so much money because he genuinely liked the movie.
Therefore, many people immediately arrived at a seemingly correct and sole conclusion: Jobs was playing a long game. His 10 million dollars was not without purpose; he was trying to gain something.
This conjecture was proven correct years later when the iPhone was unveiled, confirming that Jobs was indeed playing a grand strategy and revealing the purpose of this particular move.
But at that time, no one knew. They had no idea why Jobs spent 10 million dollars, leading to all sorts of speculations. The most prominent one was that Jobs was trying to curry favor with Jiangnan Group, aiming to acquire a certain technology held by them, most likely related to storage chips.
After all, the only intersection of interests between Apple Group and Jiangnan Group was their...
This humble place of mine, a cinema, could be rented for at most two to three thousand dollars for a week. This was the cheapest advertising imaginable!
Thus, while most companies did not respond, a few started to heed the netizens' calls and announced that they would book out cinemas for a week. As small businesses, they couldn't compare to the wealthy magnates in California, so they could only afford to book one cinema, for which they asked for understanding.
Upon seeing this, netizens immediately declared that there was no need for apologies. They were the conscience of America, far superior to those wealthy, powerful, yet unscrupulous large corporations. They pledged their lifelong support.
Some netizens, understanding the concept of sustainable development, immediately launched a campaign online to exclusively purchase from this one company, urging everyone to buy only from this conscientious business.
While it was uncertain how many people would actually stick to this pledge, the online momentum and reputation they garnered were undeniable. The intangible advertising effect was far greater than spending millions on advertisements. As a result, the sales of these brands' products indeed surged, exciting everyone in the companies.
Soon, more and more companies discovered this "money code." They began to choose to engage in this kind of business of spending little to achieve much, opting to book cinemas for marketing. Within days, hundreds of companies joined the "book out a cinema for free movie" campaign, spreading across all states in the United States. This grand movement left countless companies dumbfounded once again.
"Could this be why Apple announced they would spend 10 million dollars? Did Jobs foresee all of this and use this 10 million to create the biggest advertisement for himself?"
"Is this his grand strategy!" Many industry professionals fell into deep thought.
At the same time, in Edward Zamp's office, he received the latest monthly financial report. This month, Motorola's sales continued to decline, and its overall performance was abysmal. If not for the support of other industry peers' performance, Edward Zamp would likely have been ousted.
"Sir, in the past few days, the sales of phones like Zhongmi have increased again. Many netizens are saying they are thankful that they initiated the cinema booking campaign first, allowing them to watch movies for free!" the secretary whispered.
"..." Edward Zamp opened his mouth, mused for a moment, and then said, "Fine. We must save ourselves now. How about this: you help me draft a report, and I will approach the board to request 1 million dollars from the company to book out cinemas!"
"Yes!" The secretary looked at Edward Zamp with admiration. He was truly the president of the company, able to make such a rational decision and endure what ordinary people could not.
"Wait..." Suddenly, Edward Zamp called out to the secretary. Just as the secretary thought Edward Zamp was going to retract his statement, he heard him continue, "Others started with 1 million dollars. If we also offer 1 million, there will be no promotional effect. We must surpass them. Write a report stating that we will spend 2 million dollars to book out cinemas. If we're going to do it, we'll be the most conscientious enterprise in the entire mobile phone industry!" Edward Zamp said, clutching his chest in immense pain.