"Director Huang, no wonder everyone calls you the God of Marketing of the 21st century. Your marketing plan is simply perfect. In just one day, you've garnered over a billion people's attention worldwide for our pipeline railway. You're truly amazing; my respect for you is boundless!" In an office, a middle-aged man, at least 20 years younger than Mr. Huang, said with a fawning smile while shaking Mr. Huang's hand.
This middle-aged man was Chairman Yan of China High-Speed Railway Development Company. The now nationally renowned "Ten Thousand Mile Family Banquet" event was, of course, Mr. Huang's brainchild.
Initially, Mr. Huang himself hadn't intended to orchestrate such an event. It was Chairman Yan who actively approached Huang He, hoping he could devise a way to conduct a large-scale nationwide publicity campaign for the upcoming vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation pipeline that was about to open.
The atmosphere surrounding the construction of this pipeline had been quite negative.
From the very beginning of its construction, there had been many dissenting voices, claiming the pipeline was a waste of resources and labor, with little practical use and minimal profitability.
While these voices were initially not numerous and were directly ignored by the authorities, in the last two to three years, they had become increasingly prevalent. Almost every day, prominent online accounts would sarcastically criticize the pipeline with various arguments.
For instance, the construction cost of 300 billion yuan was deemed too high.
There were also concerns about the difficulty of recouping the investment, with some estimating it would take a century.
Some directly stated that such high-speed pipelines had no surplus value compared to traditional railways, and China should pause and wait for others to catch up.
Although these diverse opinions were ignored, the public opinion environment had steadily worsened, much like the slander faced by the Three Gorges Dam in the past. The current defamation against the vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation pipeline was no less, and perhaps even more severe. Therefore, with the pipeline's completion and upcoming operation, the company pondered ways to control public opinion and vindicate themselves.
A closer examination of these negative sentiments revealed that the critics lacked substantial counter-arguments. Ultimately, their core concern boiled down to one reason: the exorbitant cost and the fear of not recouping the investment, thus wasting public funds.
Therefore, if the pipeline could achieve good profitability after its opening, it would silence these criticisms. However, this was precisely the issue that worried everyone within the company; they were concerned about the pipeline's poor profitability once it began operation.
This concern was not unfounded; it was based on solid evidence gathered from the already operational line from Nanning to Guangzhou.
This route had been open for nearly four years, with over two years of actual operation. During these two years, except for the first month which showed decent profits, subsequent profits had been somewhat dismal.
Over two years, the total revenue had barely reached 1 billion yuan. If maintenance and operational costs for related facilities were excluded, it essentially yielded no profit, with zero possibility of recouping the investment.
When these figures were released last year, the entire nation erupted in criticism, which directly fueled the recent escalation of negative public opinion. However, those with some understanding knew that this calculation was inaccurate.
The reason was that the number of people with a strict need to travel on the vacuum high-speed pipeline section from Guangzhou to Nanning was very limited. The real demand came from the pipelines connecting China's major economic centers, such as the line from the capital to Shanghai, and from Shanghai to Guangzhou. The passenger traffic along these routes was the most frequent. Therefore, only when the entire pipeline system was completed could the data truly speak for itself.
However, most people did not grasp this nuance. They merely saw related posts, became enraged, and accused it of wasting public funds. Consequently, Chairman Yan approached Huang He, seeking the marketing guru's assistance in organizing a grand promotional event for the pipeline, which led to the current "Ten Thousand Mile Family Banquet" event.
Mr. Huang readily accepted this request, as his company, Jiangnan Group, held a 10% stake in the pipeline project. Although this 10% stake was unlikely to yield any dividends for at least 20 years.
The outcome of this event was unequivocally excellent.
Firstly, the event itself brilliantly highlighted the most significant characteristic of the vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation pipeline: its speed.
Traveling thousands of kilometers from the northernmost to the southernmost point of the country in a maximum of two hours, allowing staff from Jianmen to enjoy hot meals from their hometown, perfectly showcased the speed of the vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation pipeline.
Next was the pipeline's accuracy and safety. Another significant reason for the intense criticism of the vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation pipeline was the widespread belief that it was extremely dangerous to operate numerous trains simultaneously within a sealed tube, and prone to issues like missed stops.
However, the event demonstrated that trains departed simultaneously from over 60 cities along the pipeline, arriving smoothly in over 60 different cities. With at least 600 vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation trains moving within the bidirectional tubes, this feat was impossible without exceptional accuracy and safety.
Most ingeniously, the entire event also incorporated a strong element of humanistic care, enabling workers far from home to enjoy their hometown meals promptly. Such an initiative would face no political backlash, regardless of how it was promoted. It also showcased the company's excellent culture and even the superiority of the system, as private enterprises would typically not undertake such endeavors.
Finally, there was an implicit aspect: mobilizing residents from most cities along the pipeline. With 120,000 people, each able to order up to three dishes, and setting aside overlapping restaurants, at least 200,000 catering establishments received orders.
These 200,000 catering units could, in turn, reach at least 1 million people, considering each restaurant had an average of five servers.
This enabled 1 million people to actively participate in the event through their direct experiences, who could then promote it to over 10 million others, leading to an unparalleled promotional effect.
The cost of the event was also remarkably low. The company only needed to cover the ordering fees, which amounted to just over 3 million yuan. All other aspects were essentially free.
The transportation pipeline was their own, as were the tables and chairs. "E Bupai," as a food delivery platform, also charged no fees. Therefore, the cost was negligible, but the effect was extraordinary.
In fact, there was another hidden winner in this event: our "E Bupai."
"E Bupai" also made significant contributions to this event.
Firstly, after the event was conceived, to avoid any suspicion, Mr. Huang did not directly assign the execution to "E Bupai," in which his company had invested. Instead, he suggested holding a bidding conference, inviting all major food delivery companies nationwide to select a partner.
At that time, the food delivery industry in China was highly fragmented. Although "E Bupai" was one of the earliest food delivery companies, many others had entered the market over the years. By this point, there were over 3,600 food delivery apps in China, with 70 apps receiving more than 10,000 orders daily.
Consequently, food delivery platforms across the country were locked in fierce competition, with massive capital injections leading to inevitable subsidy wars.
Many people may not have experienced the madness of the subsidy wars waged by food delivery platforms back then. To capture customers, these platforms were reportedly spending hundreds of millions daily on subsidies.
Anyone adept at utilizing coupons could order braised pork for one yuan, milk tea for fifty cents, and fruit baskets for ten cents. It was a golden era for food delivery.
As an early entrant into the food delivery sector and backed by the colossal capital of Jiangnan Group, "E Bupai" should have been the most confident in engaging in subsidy wars. However, it remained the most conservative participant in the conflict.
While their platform did offer subsidies, they were very modest VIP member benefits. For instance, a monthly membership fee of ten yuan would grant access to six unrestricted 5-yuan coupons. It was virtually impossible to get braised pork for one yuan on the "E Bupai" platform.
As a result, "E Bupai" was overtaken by its competitors, and its market share had fallen to third place. If it weren't for the primary investor, Mr. Huang, who was so wealthy he paid little attention to such losses, investors would likely have become impatient and begun planning for a change in leadership.
However, no one knew that because "E Bupai" had abstained from the subsidy war, its cash reserves were substantial. Other companies were heavily in debt, but "E Bupai" actually held over 1 billion yuan in liquid assets.
Secondly, although "E Bupai" did not spend money on subsidized meals, it invested in subsidies for its delivery riders.
Riders for other food delivery companies were typically recruited as temporary staff through third-party labor agencies, receiving payment per delivery. Their full-time employees likely numbered less than a thousand.
However, "E Bupai" had signed employment agreements with all its riders. Every rider was a full-time employee of "E Bupai," which also paid their social security and other benefits.
Therefore, while the operational costs for "E Bupai" were not cheap, the user experience was the best. Customers rarely encountered late deliveries, lost or broken food items, because the company had stronger control over these riders.
Other food delivery platforms would at most distribute orders and let riders bid for them. But "E Bupai" could assign a rider to travel tens of kilometers for an hour to deliver a single order; this was the strength of "E Bupai."
When faced with this unexpected business opportunity, most food delivery platforms immediately declined. Some even angrily denounced China High-Speed Railway Co., Ltd. as fools for proposing such an absurd event, which demanded less than a 1‰ error rate. They questioned how any food delivery platform could possibly fulfill it.
Ultimately, only the representative from "E Bupai" remained in the conference room. The two parties then signed a cooperation agreement. Consequently, "E Bupai," due to its excellent control over its employees, successfully accomplished what was considered an almost impossible task in 2015.
In 67 cities, within two hours, they covered 200,000 catering establishments and completed a total of 380,000 food delivery orders.