With the Time Shop, I Too Am the Greatest Conglomerate of All Time

Episode 18. MP3 player.(2)

It has been two months since Hicast and Damoye signed an investment contract.

Kim Woon-jin looked at the triangular prism-shaped product on the table and remembered the past two months that seemed like hell.

two months from now.

“Director. Does it have to be this design?”

At Kim Woon-jin’s question, Jae-woon firmly nodded his head.

“yes. It has to be this design.”

Yunjin Kim sighed.

“Uh-huh, I know if that’s the case. But can’t you just increase the size by 1mm?”

Jaewoon shook his head without acknowledgment.

“no. It must be this size.”

“..With this size, all the parts will not fit. Just one more millimeter, please.”

At those words, Jaewoon said as he held the mockup (prototype made only in shape) in his hand.

“If it doesn’t go in, put it in even if it’s crumpled. Just a little bit bigger here and that good grip (feeling in the hand) goes away, and it should never be.”

At that time, for the first time, Kim Woon-jin regretted receiving the investment of fortune.

President Kim Woon-jin, who had always looked skinny, has now become almost like a skeleton wearing only leather.

President Kim asked, looking at me with resentful eyes.

“Are you satisfied now?”

I laughed quietly as I looked at the prototype of the finished MP3 player.

“Look. You can do it. Thanks for your efforts. Mr. Kim.”

At my words, President Kim bit his lip tightly.

“Really… just making this felt like my life was shortened by 5 years.”

“I know. But the results will be as good as the hard work.”

President Kim was suspicious of whether this product would really succeed in the market.

“I was told to make it, so I made it. Will this really work on the market?”

“It is eaten. For sure.”

The design of this prototype, reminiscent of a prism often used in science experiments, gave me a very familiar feeling.

Ainau, the MP3 maker that created a sensation in the MP3 player market in 2004 and quickly dominated the market.

It was designed after the mega hit product that sold over 1 million units in Ainau, so-called prism, so you can’t help but get used to it.

In particular, the design stimulated the sensibility of high school girls, so it was popular with students.

“Rather, we may not be able to meet demand with the first quantity we prepared, so please raise the yield (the ratio of normal products) as soon as possible.”

In the meantime, the necessary experimental equipment was immediately, and the number of accident research and development personnel doubled.

Perhaps thanks to a sufficient investment, the development of MP3 players was much faster than the future I knew.

The prototype was completed in two months.

The first production started a week ago.

However, since it was in the early stages of production, the yield was about 40%, so there were not many volumes.

Originally, the target was over 20,000 units per month, but at this rate, it was close to 10,000 units per month.

“We are still doing our best to increase the yield. Maybe within a month or so we can get it up 90%. But do you really think this product will sell over 20,000 units per month?”

“why? It’s a product you made yourself, but aren’t you confident?”

“..the performance is confident. But the design is a bit…”

“How about the design?”

“I think it’s so unique.”

Are you saying it’s weird?

The design that President Kim originally thought was a plain rectangular shape, so of course he wouldn’t like it.

But this was the reason why he took the management right from President Kim.

He was an engineer to the core, so he had no interest in anything other than the performance of the hardware, and he thought he would sell well if the performance was good.

If you want to sell a lot of actual products, you must not ignore factors outside of performance such as design, marketing, and price as much as performance.

It’s very rare for a business to succeed on just one factor.

“It will definitely sell well, so please focus on the production of the product, Mr. Kim. You can worry about it after the results are out.”

Despite my assurances, President Kim still had an anxious face.

When the product is released on the market, you will realize just how wonderful he made it.

Since MP3 has been spreading for a while, it is a great advantage to be the first portable MP3 player.

The design was great, so it was strange to fail.

However, no matter how good the firewood is, it needs an embers to burn.

I was thinking of a commercial on the airwaves as a guy who would play the role of a embers.

Considering the cost of making an advertisement and the cost of broadcasting it.

There was a lot of bleeding, but there was no other way.

This is because the communication network is still outdated and the design, which is the biggest advantage of the product, could not be shown through Internet or PC communication.

two days later.

Daewon asked hyung to hire a TV advertising agency.

When I went to the meeting place, the person in charge who looked like a 40-year-old who had already appeared stood up.

“hello? This is Jinhwan Lee, AE of Hanul Planning.”

“hello. Gather together, I live in Kang Jae-woon. But aren’t you surprised to see me?”

Usually, when you first see me, I am surprised because I look so young, but this uncle had a slightly different reaction.

Jinhwan Lee replied with a smile.

“I have been on this floor for 20 years. At this point, high school advertisers shouldn’t be particularly surprised. In my case, there was a time when a national student was an advertiser, so I said everything.”

If that’s the case, it’s easier to talk about.

“Then shall we get to the point?”

“yes. You tell me.”

“The advertising concept is design. Let me show you our products.”

A prototype P-32 was placed on the meeting table.

Jinhwan Lee asked carefully.

“What is this…? It’s like something I’ve never seen before.”

“Of course you will see it for the first time. This is the P-32 portable MP3 player from our company.”

“A portable MP3 player? You mean you can listen to those MP3 music files on this little device?”

“yes. This is a new product launched by a company called Hicast, which Damoye invested in. It is the first MP3 player in the world.”

Jinhwan Lee picked up and released the P-32, held it and opened it a few times, then muttered with a shocked face.

“This is … so amazing. Such a light and small music player. Besides, this simple yet unique design is really something I’ve been wanting to own since.”

Seeing that even people in the advertising industry, who are sensitive to design, fell in love for a moment, the foreshadowing of success became even more certain.

“haha. Thank you for your good evaluation. However, no matter how good this product is, it is of no use if the public does not know that such a product exists.”

“you’re right. In that sense, Hanul Planning can be your best partner. First of all, which side are you thinking of?”

“I’m thinking about the airwaves.”

“The unit price is quite high for a public broadcaster, would you mind?”

“yes. I’m thinking up to 200 million.”

“All right. Is there anyone in particular that you consider as a model?”

The people most sensitive to trends are women in their late teens to early 20s.

In my previous life, this design was especially popular with high school girls.

A model should be a girl of the same age as me.

“No one is thinking in particular. But I think a girl in a school uniform would be better.”

“Hmm. It’s not a common concept. May I know why you think so?”

“The late teens are especially sensitive to fashion. Besides, this design will go very well with the school uniform.”

Jinhwan Lee, who closed his eyes for a moment at my words, opened his eyes and shed admiration.

“You are right, sir. I think this design will go really well with school uniforms.”

“Yes?”

Jinhwan Lee took out the imported file and spread it out on the table.

“Now that you have spoken, would you like to choose a model?”

“You can do that on your own.”

“It’s comfortable for us too, but sometimes there are advertisers who complain only after filming starts.”

“Well, it might be. Well then, let’s see.”

In the file that Jinhwan Lee opened, about a dozen candidates were organized.

Among them, there was one face that seemed to have a good feeling.

“Please do this for me.”

“..this friend is a rookie who hasn’t even debuted yet, are you okay?”

“yes. it’s okay.”

“All right. We will contact you again when we are ready to shoot the commercial.”

A week later.

When I got a call saying that the advertisement I ordered was ready to shoot, I headed back to the filming location.

It was a studio of about 10 square meters.

A female student I saw for the first time came out with Jinhwan Lee.

When I showed up, two people approached me.

“hello? Director.”

“yes. hello.”

At that time, a girl who was with me politely greeted me.

“hello. This is Kim Yeon-hee. Nice to meet you.”

Jinhwan Lee added a word from the side.

“This is the advertising model that this friend chose.”

“ah. Did I say Mr. Yeonhee? Please take care of our advertisement.”

“I will do my best.”

The commercial shoot went without any major problems.

The main content was that model Kim Yeon-hee was dancing while holding the P-32 with a clip in her pocket.

Her expression, school uniform, and P-32 blended well to bring out a sophisticated feel.

After filming was over, Jinhwan Lee asked me.

“How was the filming today?”

“It was fine. I’m not an expert, so I don’t know for sure, but I think the staff and the director took good pictures to make the P-32 stand out.”

“I’m glad you felt that way.”

“thank you for your effort.”

As I was leaving the studio, I heard a voice calling me from behind.

“Advertiser!”

Looking back, it was Kim Yeon-hee, who modeled today.

“Yes. What are you doing?”

Then she held out a box the size of a laptop.

“What is this?”

“It’s pear juice.”

pear juice? You eat that pear juice?

“..but why this?”

“I prepared it as a token of gratitude. My father owns an orchard. It was made with only really good boats.”

“..Is there any reason for me to be thanked by Ms. Yeonhee?”

“You let me do an advertisement.”

“Yeonhee agreed because it seemed like it would fit well with our product. I don’t mean to say thank you to Ms. Yeon-hee.”

“Nevertheless.”

She smiled and continued to extend her arms.

“…Then, I’ll eat well.”

After I received the juice, she returned to the studio as if satisfied.

Seeing the pear juice in his hand, he grinned.

It’s unique.

5 days later.

Jinhwan Lee sent me a videotape saying that the P-32 commercial had been edited.

Upon checking, there was no particular problem, so I contacted Jinhwan Lee’s office.

“It’s okay.”

“I am glad that you liked it. When will the ad be released?”

Let’s see, when will 10,000 units be ready?

“Please prepare to go out in prime time before the 9 o’clock news on July 18 in 4 days. The channel would be IBS.”

July 18, 1997.

The world’s first produced MP3 player, model name ‘P-32’, was first shown at Damoye, an online shopping mall.

Simultaneously with the launch, an advertisement for the P-32 went out on the airwaves.

And after about three days.

As soon as I arrived at the office, Daewon hyung looked for me with a fuss.

“Jaewoon. It’s a big deal!”

“Is it a big deal? What’s the big deal?”

“Right now, our shopping mall site is dead.”

“why? Did the server even go down?”

“Not that. According to senior Jeong, it’s because people all of a sudden come all at once. It’s a little difficult to hear from seniors…”

tatak. Tatata. tickle.

Just the sound of Manager Jeong’s hand hitting the keyboard could tell how busy he is right now.

But why are people all of a sudden?

“Oh, maybe it’s because of the P-32?”

“I think so. Over 300 P-32s were sold this morning alone. By the afternoon, 200 more came out in an hour. After that, the shopping mall site was like this.”

The P-32’s response was good, though.

However, the shopping mall paralysis could not be left unattended.

“How long has it been since you were fed up like this?”

“I think it’s been an hour or so?”

“An hour?”

In an hour, about 5 or 6 assembled computers, our mainstay, will be sold.

The damage could not be said to be small.

My expression seemed too hard, so Daewon hyung quickly spoke.

“I’m sorry, senior Jeong, I’ll peck more and try to solve it as soon as possible.”

“no. What kind of point could you have as a brother? I’ll talk to Manager Jung. Manager Jung?”

I called him because it doesn’t seem like there would be a solution because Manager Jung kept holding on to him.

It seems that Manager Jung was so focused, he couldn’t even listen to me.

I went to his side and patted his shoulder.

Then he turned his head and looked at me with a surprised expression.

“Oh, when did you come? Director.”

“It’s been quite a while. I know you’re busy, but let’s stop and talk.”

“What exactly is the problem now?”

“Traffic (connection signal) exceeded the limit of our shopping mall server. So the server is down.”

“What is the threshold?”

“We were managing based on the number of concurrent users of 1000.”

“How many concurrent users are in our shopping mall these days? usually.”

“Even during the busiest time of the day, in the evening, there are roughly less than 500 people. So 1,000 people were enough, but more than 2,000 people logged in at once.”

“Is there a way to fix it right now?”

“I am doing temporary scale-up (to increase server performance), but the number of visitors is still increasing, so I can’t handle it.”

“Are you saying that the server capacity is insufficient?”

“Then, can’t we just increase the server capacity?”

“I do, though. That will increase the cost.”

“Please triple it right now.”

“yes? Then the cost will also triple, right?”

“It’s okay, so please triple it as soon as possible.”

“I heard today that this is a temporary phenomenon caused by a new product. If the capacity is increased, the cost will be tripled even if the number of users decreases later. Are you really okay?”

“The number of visitors will increase quickly. Right now, people are simply driven by the P-32, but anyway, they will visit our mall site and become potential customers.”

Damoye Shopping Mall embodies the strengths of online shopping malls in the 2000s, such as low prices, convenience in buying things at home, and a well-organized product lineup by type as much as possible.

I don’t know, I don’t live

If you experience it even once, you will have no choice but to visit our shopping mall again.

The decision to sell all the P-32s only at shopping malls was a strategy aimed at advertising effectiveness in shopping malls.

As the number of users increased more than 4 times, the result was better than expected.

Temporarily, I started working to increase the number of servers by attracting more people from Hongin Media.

Within two hours, the shopping mall site was accessible again.

As soon as the shopping mall site recovered, sales increased rapidly.

It made me happy by breaking the record for daily sales this month in 5 hours.

‘Fufu. I’m looking forward to the settlement at the end of this month.’