Chapter 1437 The Medal for the Suffering Pilgrimage

Ye Zhizhou couldn't help but look surprised: "Oh? There's such a thing?"

Ye Zhizhou had also heard of STF Motors.

Though the name sounded foreign, it was actually a homegrown company founded in '96, a high-tech enterprise specializing in new energy, batteries, IT, and automotive technologies, with seven large production bases across the country.

In the field of domestic new energy vehicles, STF's technological accumulation was among the best, and its market share was also quite good.

But the problem was that its name, which sounded very shanzhai (imitation) and low, seriously held it back.

Regarding this name, STF Motors' official explanation was that "STF" stood for "seize the future."

As a new energy vehicle company, the meaning of this name was quite appropriate.

But the problem was that people didn't buy it, because this explanation was something that STF Motors came up with after it had truly grown and realized its brand problem, a forced explanation.

In fact, several years ago, someone had interviewed the founder of STF Motors, and the founder's answer at the time was that the reason for choosing this name was simply because the original two-character and four-character names he had wanted had already been registered, and a three-character name was easier to pass, so he settled on this name.

In short, the founder of STF Motors didn't think about branding at all at the time.

This was also normal. There were so many startups in China every year, and bankruptcies were common. As a new company, the primary goal was to survive. Who could think so far ahead and foresee that they would develop into a top company twenty years later and be troubled by branding issues?

It was like many online novelists who tried one pen name and it didn't work, tried another and it still didn't work. In a fit of pique, they randomly entered a name and it passed.

Many years later, they became famous, their fans were fixed, and they couldn't change their pen name. They could only participate in various events with strange online names, which was truly heartbreaking.

Moreover, many people suspected that there was another hidden reason that the founder was too embarrassed to say.

STF Motors was founded in '96, and companies at that time liked to give themselves a more foreign-sounding name to disguise themselves as foreign brands.

Because that was the trend of the entire market at the time. Consumers generally believed that foreign brands were good, reliable in quality, and technologically advanced. So, many companies at that time deliberately chose a name that looked like a foreign brand, whether it was to deceive consumers or to adapt to the market environment, it was all for the sake of initial survival.

However, with the rise of domestic products in recent years, domestic consumers gradually stopped blindly believing in foreign brands and instead supported excellent domestic products as much as possible. The change in the environment made STF Motors' brand problem its biggest weakness.

In the past, many consumers would have a good impression as soon as they heard a name that sounded like a foreign brand, but now, a domestic brand with a name similar to a foreign brand would only give people a strong sense of shanzhai, becoming a synonym for low.

STF's boss was a pragmatist, but his ability to boast wasn't very strong, and the products he launched were relatively affordable, which led to the fact that despite strong technical strength and a good market share, the brand had been unable to build up.

This cooperation with Shenhua Group was obviously due to the brand power of Shenhua Group.

Although Shenhua Group didn't have much brand appeal in the automotive field, it had a very strong brand appeal in the fields of internet and smart hardware! One company was good at hardware, and the other was good at software, and the best combination was the autonomous driving technology of new energy vehicles!

Ye Zhizhou didn't expect that he would actually encounter an unexpected surprise this time.

Obviously, the deep cooperation between STF Motors and Shenhua Group hadn't been widely publicized, so many outsiders weren't clear about it.

But given the strength of the two companies, once the research results were released, it would definitely shock many people.

Ye Zhizhou was very happy: "Great, if the new cars made by STF and Shenhua can also actively join *Safe and Civilized Driving*, then it will obviously be a very competitive disruptive force!"

Lin Wan took out her phone: "I'll push you the contact information of the relevant person in charge. ... Well, let's just ask the person in charge to come over, we'll talk in person."

"From what I know, although the cars made by the two companies are about to enter the mass production stage, they haven't fully reached a consensus on the name, brand positioning, marketing strategy, and so on of this model, and haven't come up with a particularly suitable plan."

"If they can also get in touch with Tengda, with the double blessing of Shenhua and Tengda, the brand value of this new car will inevitably soar again. This cooperation will definitely become a win-win-win situation."

As soon as he heard the words "marketing strategy," Ye Zhizhou perked up: "Isn't that just a publicity plan? I'm good at that!"

"Meng Chang has taught me all of the Pei-style publicity method that he painstakingly summarized. *Safe and Civilized Driving* is just a small test, and the effect is okay."

Lin Wan was stunned for a moment: "Pei-style publicity method? There's such a thing?"

She was a little confused, because she had worked at Tengda Games and Shang Yang Games for so long, and she had never heard of this concept.

Ye Zhizhou nodded: "This concept is recent, it was summarized by Meng Chang in the process of being responsible for publicity work at Tengda for a long time."

"But in fact, President Pei has used this Pei-style publicity method many times before, it's just that we're too dull in this area and didn't understand it. Think about the publicity plans for so many projects back then, which one didn't look bizarre, but the result was unexpectedly good?"

Lin Wan suddenly understood: "I see!"

"Then I'll contact the person in charge of the project over there now, but they're also quite busy with work, after all, it's close to the launch, and there are still some details that need to be adjusted. How about this, I'll discuss it with them, and at the latest next week, let them come to Jingzhou!"

...

...

January 30th, Wednesday.

On the nameless island where the suffering pilgrimage was located.

Qiao Liang was the last one to climb up the cliff of the island, and he was so tired that he lay directly on the ground.

Looking at the others, the situation wasn't much better. Everyone was crooked and exhausted, feeling like their bodies had been hollowed out.

After a whole month of wind and sun, everyone had gotten a lot darker.

Although this group of people seized the opportunity to apply sunscreen and suntan oil to their faces and bodies, sunscreen wasn't omnipotent. In this environment, being constantly exposed to the sun, the skin inevitably moved closer to bronze.

On the other hand, Bao Xu, although he had also been tanned a bit more, it wasn't very noticeable anymore, after all, he had been through many battles.

Seeing that Qiao Liang had also successfully climbed up, Bao Xu pressed the timer in his hand: "Okay, today's training program ends here."

"I announce that the second phase of the Suffering Pilgrimage has come to a successful conclusion!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone on the scene instantly felt relieved and came back to life.

It's finally over!

People like Qiao Liang, Yu Pingan, and Chen Yufeng, who had relatively weak endurance, almost burst into tears of joy on the spot.

A month! Do you know how we spent this month? Huh?

This uninhabited island was so miserable that they instinctively forgot that there was actually a month of indoor training before the island. Now that they thought about it, indoor training was as easy as a vacation!

Sa Ziran took out the commemorative medals and certificates that had been prepared long ago.

Bao Xu looked solemn: "Now we will award the Ascetic Medals. Please everyone stand in a row."

Everyone had been paralyzed on the ground before, unwilling to move, but when they heard that medals were going to be awarded, they quickly got up from the ground and stood in a neat row.

Sa Ziran and Li Yaling helped Bao Xu hold the medals and certificates, and Bao Xu solemnly took the corresponding medals and certificates and distributed them one by one.

Qiao Liang's face was full of anticipation.

A very important reason why he was able to persevere in the arduous training of the Suffering Pilgrimage was that he was full of expectations for the Ascetic title and the various benefits it brought.

Of course, the more important reason was that this was an uninhabited island, and he couldn't run away even if he wanted to.

But in any case, this was an honor!

"Good job!" After Bao Xu shook hands with Qiao Liang, he took the medal and certificate from Sa Ziran, handed them to Qiao Liang, and then continued to distribute them to the next person.

Qiao Liang happily played with the Ascetic Medal.

The craftsmanship was exquisite and very collectible!

This was an irregular medal, and there were three layers of patterns embossed on the medal.

The bottom layer was a huge shield, and below the shield were many long swords, with the hilts facing up and the tips facing down, arranged in a shape similar to a peacock spreading its tail;

The shield was embossed with another layer of patterns, towering mountains and turbulent rivers rushing into the sea, in short, it reflected the supernatural craftsmanship of nature;

And on the top layer, on the cliffs of the towering mountains, a small person was working hard to climb, representing the image of the ascetic.

Qiao Liang simply couldn't put this medal down.

Awesome!

It had to be said that Tengda was Tengda, this commemorative medal was so exquisite, and it was also very commemorative, because it had profound cultural connotations.

Seeing it would naturally remind him of the glorious years he spent on the Suffering Pilgrimage!

Qiao Liang decided that this medal must be permanently treasured as a family heirloom, and he could brag to his son and grandson about it.

Do you know about the Suffering Pilgrimage? This is your father's/grandfather's medal of honor!

Then, he turned his attention to the certificate.

The cover of the certificate was also custom-made, and it also used a metal engraving process, making it heavy in his hand.

The pattern on the cover was also related to the pattern on the commemorative medal.

Opening the certificate, the few lines written inside were also very enjoyable for Qiao Liang.

"Ascetic Qiao Liang, in the second phase of the Suffering Pilgrimage (December 2012 - January 2013), worked hard, persevered, and showed an indomitable spirit of struggle, and is hereby awarded the title of 'Resilient Ascetic'!"

Below were the signature, time, and seal, making it extremely formal.

Qiao Liang couldn't help but feel happy, and at the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Fortunately, fortunately, he thought the final title would be something like "Bottom Member"!

Resilient Ascetic? This title was very good, and it perfectly showed his excellent qualities!

Qiao Liang couldn't help but look at Ruan Guangjian next to him: "What's your title?"

Because the previous announcement said that the results of this phase would be recorded. If this rule hadn't been canceled, then the titles everyone received should be different.