In the broader online space, also in accordance with Li Yan's vision and the efforts of the newly established new media marketing department, there is a lot of discussion about Xingchen Technology and Li Yan himself.
Tianya Community: A post titled "Li Yan, the Handsome Star Mobile Marshal Who Blows Up the Sky on August 18" was pinned to the top by the moderator. The number of clicks quickly exceeded 100,000, and the number of replies exceeded 1,000.
The poster has sorted out Li Yan's background and the development history of Xingchen in detail. The following responses are varied, including those who marvel at his youth, some who analyze his business model, and some who just lick the screen.
Maopu.com: Emoticons and jokes began to appear.
Someone's photos of Li Yan were plastered with the words "student tyrant", "tall, rich and handsome", "national husband", etc., and it was widely circulated.
Although it is slightly joking, it has greatly enhanced Li Yan's personal popularity.
Although early Weibo, such as Fanfou and Tencent Taotao, were primitive in form, keywords such as "Xingchen Mobile", "Li Yan", and "A1" also began to appear frequently, forming an initial topic effect.
In the "Entrepreneurial Home" section of Tianya Community and the digital discussion area of Maopu.com, which represented the vane of early Internet public opinion in China, the popularity of related posts soared rapidly, with the number of replies increasing at a rate of hundreds per hour.
"Holy shit! Is it true? The boss of Xingchen Mobile looks like this??? With his looks and temperament, he's more than enough to become a star, right? I thought he was a local boss wearing a gold chain!"
Similar exclamation posts instantly became popular.
"I was a little shocked after reading the report in "Nandu". He is a few years older than me, and he has already built a factory and sold hundreds of thousands of units a month. Looking at myself, I am still worried about next month's rent... This is the real back wave!"
This kind of self-reflective and inspirational posts have resonated with a large number of young people.
"I am studying industrial design, and I carefully looked at the UI screenshots of A1 in magazines. This design language is absolutely advanced! Flat icons, unified color system, this smoothness... Is this really still an MTK platform? Xingchen's R&D team has something!"
Technology geeks and design enthusiasts have found a new focus for discussion.
In some early active blogging platforms, such as Sina Blog and NetEase Blog, some analytical articles written by influential bloggers began to appear, with titles such as "Decoding Li Yan: Internet Thinking Breakthrough in Traditional Manufacturing Industry" and "Star Phenomenon: A Business Sample in an Era of "Appearance is Justice"", naming him as "the manufacturing marshal who best understands young people" and "the prototype of Steve Jobs of the East".
At this time, in a county in North China, an uncle Wang who ran a canteen was using the Xingchen S2 that his son bought for him.
He pointed to the photo of Li Yan in the newspaper and said to the old neighbor who came to buy things: "Did you see it? This guy is the one who made my mobile phone! He is so talented at such a young age! This mobile phone is easy to use!" There was a sense of simple pride in his words.
In a prefecture-level city in East China, a mother named Zhang was having a headache because her high school son was addicted to Internet cafes.
She saw the report about Li Yan and A1 in the evening newspaper, especially after seeing the concept of "making mobile phones for young people". She was moved in her heart and said to her husband: "When this child finishes the exam, why not give it to him?" Buy this Xingchen A1? It looks very fashionable, and the boss looks like a serious person, which is better than going to an Internet cafe."
A few young people were chatting during their lunch break in a coffee shop in Lujiazui, Shanghai.
A girl took out "First Financial Weekly" and said excitedly: "Look, our domestic mobile phone also has such a handsome boss! I feel he is more stylish than the founders of foreign Internet companies!"
A male colleague next to him took the magazine, looked at it, and nodded: "My uncle from my hometown is using Xingchen S2, and he said it is very reliable. I didn't expect that the boss is so young and knows design. This A1 is a bit interesting."
Li Yan's personal short film completely breaks out of the category of product promotion and is positioned as a "visual manifesto" for all young people.
The short film did not choose to be shot in a factory or office, but in an abandoned old train station that was full of industrial aesthetics and traces of time.
The lens language is very cinematic and the tone is cold.
Wearing his iconic casual clothes, Li Yan walked alone among the empty platforms, rusty railway tracks and huge abandoned carriages.
The background music is low and rhythmic electronic music, which gradually advances, creating an atmosphere of readiness.
His narration uses a low and magnetic voice, and each sentence is carefully polished, pointing directly to the confusion, desire and rebellion deep in the hearts of young people in 2008:
(Camera: Li Yan's back, walking on the empty railway track, with the blurred city skyline in the distance)
"This world always likes to label you."
(Voice calm, with a hint of imperceptible sarcasm)
(Camera switching: Quickly flash back to some scenes - parents' expectant eyes, thousands of troops crossing the single-plank bridge for the college entrance examination, and a sea of resumes at the job fair)
"Tell you, how should you go."
"Dreams, how you should do it."
(Camera: Li Yan stops, turns around, looks straight at the camera)
"But, that is their road, not yours."
(The music rhythm suddenly intensifies, the camera switches: a close-up of Xingchen S1 on the simple production line, the hot sales scene of S2, the scene of engineers focusing on debugging the A1)
"We once had nothing."
"Except, a heart unwilling to accept mediocrity."
(Camera: Li Yan stands on the top of an abandoned carriage, opening his arms, as if embracing the whole sky, the wind blowing his hair)
"Don't believe in fate!"
"Don't be afraid of being different!"
"Youth, the only capital is to dare to trample the "impossible" under your feet!"
(Close-up: Li Yan's face, sweat sliding down the temples, eyes burning with blazing fire)
"Stars are not about becoming someone."
"But to prove that you can be anyone!"
(The picture is finally fixed on the simple LOGO of Xingchen Technology, and the background sound is a drum beat as strong as a heartbeat)
"Star Technology. For everyone, you who refuse to be defined."
This short film, which lasted only one minute and thirty seconds, instantly detonated the entire young group after it was simultaneously launched on major video websites, the GG period of TV stations, and Xingchen Technology's own official website.
It does not mention the parameters of mobile phones in one sentence, and the entire article outputs values, accurately hitting the nerves of those young people in 2008 who, under the background of the wave of globalization and the rapid development of the domestic economy, both feel unlimited possibilities and often fall into status anxiety.
The rebellion against traditional disciplines, the desire for self-realization, and the strong resonance with "grassroots counterattack" made the word "star" transcend a cold product for the first time and become a spiritual symbol and cultural phenomenon.