Public announcement

After hearing Li Zhi’s question, Pei Mingli replied with a look of embarrassment, “To be honest with Your Highness, I am troubled by the matter of our furniture being counterfeited.”

Li Zhi was somewhat puzzled by this. In his view, he had already instructed Liu An to invite a master craftsman from the Imperial Workshop to design anti-forgery marks, which should have effectively prevented such incidents. Yet, judging from Pei Mingli’s words, it seemed someone was still attempting to produce imitations.

Li Zhi asked in confusion, “Has our anti-forgery measure failed to work?”

Pei Mingli reassured him, “You need not worry, Your Highness. There have been no issues with our anti-forgery methods, and the counterfeit furniture was discovered yesterday and has already been reported to the authorities.”

“Then what is it that concerns you, Manager Pei?” Li Zhi pressed.

Pei Mingli explained, “Your Highness may not be aware, but there are now quite a few merchants in Chang’an selling this new style of furniture.” He gave a bitter smile before continuing, “Moreover, since Your Highness allowed other merchants to pay for the rights to imitate our designs in order to look after their interests, so…”

At this, Li Zhi began to understand Pei Mingli’s concern. He interjected, “You mean that the abundance of similar products on the market is affecting our sales?”

Pei Mingli nodded. “Precisely.”

Li Zhi waved his hand dismissively. “That’s of no real consequence. Our furniture is aimed at high-end clients—surely such people will not choose other brands.”

Pei Mingli shook his head. “Your Highness, that’s not entirely the case. The concept of branding is still very new, and many people don’t understand it. As a result, even high-end customers have been buying other brands’ furniture without realizing it.”

Only then did Li Zhi realize he had overlooked a vital issue. He had indeed made clever use of the merchants’ tendency to follow trends and imitate, thus establishing the “Linde” brand in a short time. However, people of this era had never encountered the concept of branding before. To most, since the designs were similar, there was little difference between buying Linde furniture and buying from another brand. They cared only about the utility of the new furniture and ignored the prestige and elevated status that a brand could confer.

In other words, the “Linde” brand had not yet developed any intangible value, nor could it reflect the social status of its buyers.

Having thought this through, Li Zhi quickly devised a solution. With a smile, he said to Pei Mingli, “This is easily solved. All we need is an advertisement.”

Pei Mingli was puzzled. “May I ask, Your Highness, what do you mean by advertisement?”

Li Zhi replied, “An advertisement is a public announcement. We can set up advertising spaces throughout Chang’an to widely communicate the unique qualities of our ‘Linde’ furniture, letting people truly understand the hidden value of the brand.”

Pei Mingli was indeed an exceptional businessman. After a moment’s thought, his eyes lit up. Excitedly, he said, “Your Highness, you are truly a genius! With this, those high-end clients will never look at other brands again.” He added, “Once our exclusive stores have made a name for themselves, there will be no more need to worry about counterfeiting.”

Li Zhi nodded. “Exactly.”

He then bowed to Pei Mingli and said, “I’ll trouble you to work on the advertising copy, Manager Pei. I must go and see Magistrate Li Zhe of Jingzhao Prefecture to request some advertising spaces.”

Pei Mingli asked in confusion, “Why do you need to apply for advertising spaces, Your Highness? There are so many places in Chang’an.”

Li Zhi smiled and shook his head. “That’s not quite right, Manager Pei. Merchants are only just beginning to understand branding, so they don’t yet grasp its importance.” He changed the subject, “But what will happen once our advertisements succeed?”

Pei Mingli thought for a moment. “Many will surely follow our example.”

Li Zhi nodded. “That’s why the authorities need to designate specific places for advertising, to avoid trouble for the market inspectors.”

Hearing this, Pei Mingli immediately bowed respectfully. “Your Highness is remarkably thorough. I am deeply impressed.”

Li Zhi waved off the praise, saying, “You flatter me, Manager Pei. I am simply doing my duty.”

With that, he bowed again, then turned and left with Liu An. Pei Mingli saw them to the door, watching as they departed. At this moment, he was completely in awe of Li Zhi.

Among all the merchants in Chang’an, he had always counted himself among the most astute. Yet today, Li Zhi had effortlessly solved a conundrum that had left him stymied, and even anticipated the secondary consequences, devising solutions in advance. Pei Mingli knew he could never match such intelligence and foresight.

Li Zhi soon met with Li Zhe and explained his idea. At the end, he added, “Lord Li, the new advertising spaces could also generate some revenue.”

Initially, Li Zhe was somewhat opposed to Li Zhi’s request for advertising spaces in Chang’an, as he feared it would create needless complications in the city’s management. But upon hearing that these spaces could be a source of income, his resistance was replaced by astonishment.

Leaving aside how innovative Li Zhi’s idea was, the mere suggestion that advertising spaces could generate revenue for Jingzhao Prefecture was enough to impress him. As the de facto chief official of Chang’an, he was well aware that the popular “Linde” furniture was Li Zhi’s invention. What he hadn’t expected was that the Prince of Jin could come up with a way to increase the city’s income as well.

Since it was profitable, Li Zhe promptly agreed to Li Zhi’s proposal after a brief moment of surprise. Within just two days, Jingzhao Prefecture launched several hundred advertising spaces throughout the city, each with notices inviting business.

Pei Mingli quickly became the first customer, buying up nearly half the advertising rights for six months in one go. While other merchants hesitated, Pei Mingli, with his excellent ad copy, succeeded in making most of Chang’an’s high-end clientele recognize the value of Linde furniture.

Furthermore, he used the advertisements to inform customers of the location of the exclusive Linde store, emphasizing that only purchases made there were genuine, and that any sold elsewhere were counterfeit.

Pei Mingli’s campaign not only swiftly drew many elite clients to the exclusive store, but also, without meaning to, dealt a fatal blow to Li Tai’s counterfeiting workshop.