Chapter 21
A barrage of professional questions hit Tessa like cannonballs.
She was completely stumped. After stammering for a long time without getting anywhere, she could only awkwardly pick up her water glass and take a sip. "Well... we need to have another meeting to discuss this. There's no rush."
Aurora leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, not even bothering with formalities anymore. "My time is valuable. I'm not here to sit in meetings discussing whether something 'looks pretty' or not."
Seeing the atmosphere about to hit rock bottom, Tessa panicked. Suddenly, as if struck by an idea, her eyes lit up, and she pointed at me. "This proposal was done by Luna! She's new, so normally, she doesn't think things through. Ms. Rivera, please don't be upset. I'll personally revise it when I get back and give you a satisfactory answer!"
I looked up and met her gaze. My face still wore that timid expression, but inside I was already laughing coldly.
Aurora was so amused by this shameless move that she actually laughed.
She stood up and slammed her portfolio shut with a crisp sound.
"No need." She picked up her bag, her gaze sweeping past Tessa's pale face.
Tessa was thrown into a panic by Aurora's reaction. She looked pleadingly at Amelia, who had emerged at the sound, her eyes full of grievance.
Naturally, Amelia wouldn't let her trusted ally suffer.
She crossed her arms and walked over slowly in her high heels, wearing a sweet fake smile. "Ms. Rivera, if there's any problem, you can talk to me about it."
Aurora didn't even give her a proper look, just stared coldly at me with an unyielding attitude. "Such an important project, handed to a waste of space who can't even articulate a basic concept, and a newbie left sitting in the corner—is your company short on people or what?"
Her words were brutally blunt, slapping not only Tessa in the face but sweeping Amelia up in it, too.
The smile on Amelia's face froze, a flash of viciousness in her eyes.
She thought Aurora was disgusted with me as the newbie and wanted to make an issue of it, and immediately had an idea.
Not only was she not annoyed, but she also smiled even more warmly. "Ms. Rivera is right. This was indeed our oversight."
She turned around, clapped her hands, and said to everyone in the office who had their ears perked up for gossip: "Everyone, stop what you're doing and come to the conference room. Ms. Rivera has concerns about our proposal. This is a good opportunity for everyone to listen together, pool our ideas, and let Luna, our newbie, learn what a mature proposal looks like."
She was putting me on the spot, making everyone come watch my "ignorance" and "superficiality," to see how I'd be publicly humiliated by a difficult client.
Colleagues exchanged looks of anticipation as they filed into the conference room one by one, packing the small space full. Tessa immediately found her backbone and retreated to Amelia's side, shooting me a venomous glare.
Amelia sat down in the main seat, putting on a businesslike manner. "Ms. Rivera, now that everyone's here, you can speak. Luna, don't be nervous. Speak your mind boldly. It's okay if you're wrong—just consider it providing a cautionary tale for your seniors."
These words completely blocked all my escape routes, making it clear she wanted me to make a fool of myself in front of everyone.
Aurora pulled out the chair across from me and sat down, crossing her long legs, looking at me with a half-smile. "Luna, right? Since you made this proposal, why don't you tell me how you plan to promote my brand?"
Everyone's eyes instantly focused on me, gleeful, waiting to see how I'd handle this.
I took a deep breath and stood up from my seat, my face still showing the nervousness and awkwardness befitting a newbie. I first bowed slightly to Amelia and Aurora, then spoke timidly, "Ms. White, Ms. Rivera, everyone, my ideas might not be very mature. Please give me your guidance."
Having made the proper show of humility, I walked unhurriedly to the projection screen and connected my phone to the projector.
What appeared on the screen wasn't an empty PowerPoint, but a logically clear mind map.
"Ms. Rivera's brand positioning is original, haute couture, accessible luxury, with the core being the designer's strong personal style." I began, my voice not loud but clearly reaching everyone's ears. "So traditional advertising models aren't suitable—that would only lower the brand's image."
Tessa immediately seized the opportunity to rebut: "If we don't advertise, are we supposed to wait for clients to find us themselves? Luna, aren't you being too idealistic?"
I ignored her interruption and just looked at Aurora, continuing: "My idea is to center on 'the person,' building a personal IP for Ms. Rivera. First step—we're not rushing to sell products, but to tell stories."
"We'll release exclusive series content on our new platform in the form of high-quality short videos, with three content threads. First, 'The Birth of Design' documents Ms. Rivera's entire process from finding inspiration to completing design sketches to selecting materials and production, emphasizing the uniqueness and craftsmanship of each design. Second, 'The Aesthetics of Style,' with Ms. Rivera appearing personally to share her fashion philosophy and styling tips, establishing a professional, authoritative image. Third, 'Her Social Circle' invites elite women from various industries in Ms. Rivera's network for interviews, showcasing the brand's target audience and lifestyle."
The conference room fell silent.
Those colleagues who had been waiting to watch me fail gradually changed their expressions from contempt to focus.
"Through these three content threads, we'll deeply link Ms. Rivera's brand with keywords like 'elite,' 'independent,' and 'taste.' When users identify with and aspire to the designer herself, consumption becomes natural."
"As for monetization," I tapped my phone and switched to the next page, "we won't do mass-produced assembly line products, only limited editions and haute couture. We'll conduct weekly live-stream presales through the platform, creating a sense of scarcity. At the same time, we'll establish a paid membership community where members can enjoy priority purchase rights for new products, access to offline salons, and even one-on-one image design services."
"My preliminary estimate is that within three months, we'll attract five thousand high-quality targeted fans through content, completing the accumulation of our first batch of seed users. Within six months, we'll achieve monthly revenue exceeding one million dollars and bring the platform its first batch of high-net-worth paying users, completing the platform's cold start."
When I finished, the conference room was deathly quiet.
This proposal was a complete cycle, from brand positioning to content production, to user operations and commercial monetization, forming a perfect closed loop.
This was no longer just a simple promotion plan, but a business plan that could make any investor's heart race.