May 3rd, Thursday.
5:00 PM.
It was still at the largest five-star hotel in Jingzhou City, the Oasis Four Seasons Hotel. The previous OTTO E1 phone launch event had also been held in this hotel’s banquet hall.
Same location, similar product, only the time had changed.
The previous E1 phone launch event was held at 3:00 PM on a Sunday, while this G1 phone launch event had been changed to 5:00 PM on a Thursday, which was also the first working day right after the May Day holiday.
This timing was clearly intentionally specified by Pei Qian.
The time for the previous launch event had been set by Chang You, and Pei Qian hadn’t questioned it. Now, reflecting on it, there was a big problem: Sunday was a holiday, when online traffic was too high. Once the launch event happened, it immediately went viral on the AiLiDao website, generating widespread attention.
So, Pei Qian deliberately scheduled the G1 phone launch event at this very awkward time.
First, this was the first working day after the May Day holiday. Everyone was back at work for their first day, likely in low spirits, with accumulated work making most people overwhelmed—they probably wouldn’t have the mood to pay attention to the launch event. Second, 5:00 PM was neither here nor there. If it were earlier, like 3:00 PM, office workers who had just woken from their afternoon naps might be able to catch some news about the launch event. If it were later, after 7:00 PM, when everyone had gotten home from work, they could spare some time to watch the launch event while having dinner.
By setting it at 5:00 PM, when everyone was eager to go home and starting to think about what to have for dinner that night, it would absolutely minimize the impact of this launch event!
The audience at this launch event was still primarily made up of technology media colleagues and loyal customers from Jingzhou. All tickets were complimentary, and for technology media coming from other cities, their same-day accommodation and round-trip transportation expenses would still be covered.
In any case, where money could be spent, it wouldn’t be saved.
Like last time, Pei Qian arrived at the venue a bit early and found a seat.
Soothing, elegant music played at the venue as the audience entered and took their seats. Many technology media colleagues could be seen taking photos with cameras. The turnout seemed much higher than at the previous E1 phone launch event.
Adhering to his principle of changing locations after each move, Pei Qian, who had sat in a corner of the venue during the last launch event, was now seated in the front-mid section, around the fifth row. The scattered people sitting in front of him were reporters from various technology media outlets and video content creators from the technology section, among others.
Unlike the previous E1 phone launch event, this time the big screen was already lit up in advance, rather than turning on only when the launch event officially began. Besides the countdown to the start, there were a few lines of text on the screen.
“OTTO Technology ‘Embracing the Future’ Exchange and Sharing Session.”
The words “OTTO Technology” were followed by the logos of the Tenda Group and OTTO Technology, while the four characters for “Embracing the Future” used a special artistic font and were the most eye-catching.
The entire image looked simple, elegant, and had a slight touch of technological sophistication.
Pei Qian didn’t pay much attention to it. For a launch event, what it was called didn’t really matter. Many phone manufacturers liked to get creative during launch events, coming up with strange names to enhance their prestige, like “Multi-dimensional Liquid-Cooled Uniform Heat Dissipation Frost Cooling System,” which was actually just adding a bit more graphite for heat dissipation. It sounded good, but the actual components were still the same, with little difference.
Anyway, this launch event was meant to release the G1 phone, so whatever it was called wouldn’t affect the content of the launch event.
Two people sitting in the row in front of Pei Qian seemed to be from the same technology media outlet. One was slightly older and was guiding a younger colleague on how to take photos. It was likely a common scenario of an experienced employee training a new one, bringing the company’s newcomer to observe a launch event and practice.
The launch event hadn’t officially started yet. After setting up their equipment and casually taking some photos of the venue, they had nothing to do and started chatting.
“I wonder what kind of performance Manager Chang will bring us today? I’m so looking forward to it.”
“Indeed, that rapid-fire delivery at last year’s launch event truly amazed me. It was the first time I’d seen a phone launch event done like that, and honestly, the effect was outstanding.”
“But the timing is a bit awkward. Other companies hold their launch events on holidays or in the evenings, but why did OTTO Technology choose 5:00 PM on a workday? I hope it won’t interfere with dinner.”
“It won’t. Manager Chang runs launch events efficiently. Last time, he only spoke for an hour, and most of that time was spent discussing the phone’s shortcomings. This time will probably be similar—extremely condensed. It will definitely finish before 7:00 PM, possibly even around 6:00 PM.”
“Wait, I just thought of something. I heard that Manager Chang is no longer in charge of OTTO Technology’s phone business, so for this launch event… they haven’t changed the speaker, have they?”
“That can’t be! For this launch event, Manager Chang is indispensable! It just wouldn’t have the same feel with someone else!”
“Indeed, Manager Chang’s annual launch event is my source of joy. They absolutely shouldn’t change the speaker!”
Listening to the discussion of the two people in front of him, Pei Qian couldn’t help but laugh to himself.
Still holding out hope for Manager Chang?
Your Manager Chang is gone!
Pei Qian couldn’t help feeling smug about his brilliant decision. Thankfully, he had arranged for Chang You’s removal through the first-round elimination system. Otherwise, every time a new phone launch event was held, as soon as Chang You stepped on stage, even before he opened his mouth, the attention would already be at maximum. Wouldn’t that be a major problem?
Clearly, despite this launch event being scheduled at such an awkward time, it still had high attention, and Chang You deserved much of the credit.
Many people weren’t actually here for the product at this launch event but to hear Chang You tell jokes.
Most people probably thought like these two guys. Although they had heard that Chang You was no longer in charge of the phone department, they were still hoping that Chang You would come to host this launch event.
They believed that since Chang You was still at OTTO Technology and hadn’t left, he had likely been promoted, changing from being solely responsible for the phone business to delegating it to subordinates while taking on higher-level work himself.
If that were the case, for such an important launch event, wouldn’t Chang You still need to personally appear?
After all, many people had already linked OTTO Technology with Chang You. Without Chang You, the effect of this launch event would definitely be greatly diminished.
It was foreseeable that when Jiang Yuan took the stage today, the audience would be utterly disappointed, collectively crying foul about being deceived, and the launch event would be secure in its failure.
Soon, it was time.
This time, there was no warm-up video. However, the female voice that had previously informed everyone about the precautions had been replaced by AEEIS’s voice, reminding everyone that the launch event would only last one hour, asking everyone to silence their phones, try not to leave their seats, and collect small gifts after the event, among other things.
It also mentioned that this launch event would be live-streamed across multiple platforms, with a dedicated live stream room on Rabbit Tail Live.
Although the warm-up video was gone, AEEIS’s voice was a small surprise.
As soon as it struck 5:00 PM, the lights dimmed, and the venue immediately erupted with enthusiastic applause and cheers.
“Manager Chang! Manager Chang! Manager Chang!”
“Hmm…”
Quite a few people were already clamoring. The atmosphere wasn’t like a launch event but more like a comedy theatre.
Clearly, most of the audience had already decided in their minds that the protagonist of OTTO Technology’s launch event could only be Manager Chang.
However, when the actual speaker came on stage, the audience was completely bewildered.
“Huh? Who’s this?”
“Where’s Manager Chang?”
“Don’t tell me they really changed the speaker? We want Manager Chang!”
The audience members were all well-mannered people, so they wouldn’t directly shout “Give us our money back,” but from everyone’s expressions and demeanor, it was evident that they were quite disappointed.
It wasn’t fair to say they felt deceived, after all, the launch event’s prior promotions had never stated that the speaker would be Chang You—that was just everyone’s wishful thinking.
But without Manager Chang, what was worth watching about this launch event?
Without the comedy performance, the excitement level of this launch event would plummet all the way to the bottom!
Jiang Yuan was also a bit embarrassed, but he had already anticipated this scenario in advance, so he still delivered his opening remarks according to the script in an orderly manner.
“Sorry to disappoint everyone a bit, but today it’s not Manager Chang.”
“Hello everyone, I’m the new person in charge of OTTO Technology, Jiang Yuan.”
“First, I want to thank everyone for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend OTTO Technology’s ‘Embracing the Future’ Exchange and Sharing Session. On behalf of Mr. Pei, Manager Chang, and all colleagues at OTTO Technology, I extend a warm welcome to all of you. Additionally, it has been exactly one year since OTTO Technology was established. I would also like to express sincere gratitude to all fans who support and love OTTO Technology on behalf of Mr. Pei, Manager Chang, and all colleagues at OTTO Technology!”
The venue once again erupted in thunderous applause.
After all, most people who came this time were loyal fans of OTTO Technology. When the new person in charge expressed gratitude to the fans on stage, everyone still had to show support and give some response.
But the discussion between the two guys in front of Pei Qian revealed the true thoughts of many audience members.
“This new person in charge seems okay, but he doesn’t have that Manager Chang vibe!”
“Indeed, he seems a bit conservative in his speech, giving off a somewhat introverted, slightly formal feeling. He doesn’t really energize the venue atmosphere.”
“His speaking skills compared to Manager Chang are indeed quite far behind.”
“Let’s see what happens next. We probably shouldn’t expect jokes, but hopefully, the content of the launch event will be interesting.”
Although these opening remarks were steady and without issues, as soon as Jiang Yuan spoke, the audience immediately noticed the gap in speaking skills between him and Chang You.
Though Chang You also came from a formal technical background, he was very down-to-earth. When he stood on stage, he had a bit of that comedian feel, completely in control of both the stage and the audience, managing the venue’s atmosphere with finesse.
Moreover, that sense of humor was innate and very infectious.
But Jiang Yuan completely lacked this quality. He even seemed a bit timid, with his words giving people a sense of lack of confidence. Forget about putting on a performance—he found it difficult to even properly engage the audience.
Those who were looking forward to Manager Chang’s performance were naturally greatly disappointed.
But as the saying goes, since they had already come, if the speaker wasn’t impressive, they could only hope that the content of this launch event would be interesting.