In recent years, the Chinese short drama market has experienced explosive growth. The number of productions surged from 336 in 2022 to 36,400 in 2024. This rapid expansion has driven the market size beyond 50 billion RMB, with a user base exceeding 600 million. Notably, it covers the core consumer group aged 18 to 59, with young users aged 18 to 34 accounting for 40%, making them the primary target for brands.
In 2025, the China National Radio and Television Administration officially launched the “Micro Short Drama + Brand” initiative. Meanwhile, platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou have accelerated the development of a marketing ecosystem that integrates content-driven discovery with traffic conversion, further advancing the landscape of Chinese short drama marketing.
In the Chinese market, short dramas are no longer merely a form of entertainment. Instead, Chinese short drama has evolved into a dynamic content platform that enables brands to engage deeply with consumers. For brands aiming to build recognition and drive sales in China, short drama marketing presents a timely and powerful opportunity.
What is Chinese Short Drama Marketing?
Chinese Short drama marketing refers to a strategy where brands integrate their product information and brand values organically into short drama content through sponsorship, customization, product placement, or co-creation. This approach leverages storytelling to enhance brand awareness, evoke emotional engagement, and stimulate purchasing intent, ultimately achieving a seamless combination of brand building and sales conversion within the Chinese short drama space.
According to data from the first half of 2025, platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou launched 315 new non-paid short dramas, of which 59% (185 titles) were brand-customized content. Brands are no longer merely advertisers but have evolved into active co-creators in Chinese short drama content production.
The Evolution Path of Chinese Short Drama Marketing
Brands typically navigate through three stages in Chinese short drama marketing: paid product placement, co-creation with partners, and brand-led production.
Paid Product Placement
At this initial stage, brands often opt for light product placements in popular short dramas. For example, a functional beverage placed on an office desk, headphones used by the protagonist, or skincare products featured subtly within scenes. By embedding products naturally into everyday scenarios and increasing their visibility through character use, brands can enhance recognition and favorability among viewers.
This approach suits brands with limited budgets or those still learning platform user preferences. The primary goal here is to achieve basic brand exposure at a low cost.
Co-Creation with Partners
In the intermediate stage, brands collaborate closely with MCN agencies and key opinion leaders (KOLs) to develop storylines and characters that align tightly with their brand positioning.
For instance, Proya created multiple short dramas centered on “female empowerment,” portraying women’s growth and challenges in work and family life. Through emotional resonance, the brand conveyed its caring values, while the protagonist’s use of Proya skincare products enhanced authenticity.
Similarly, Baidu focused on technology and convenience by showcasing AI voice assistants and smart maps within short dramas, reinforcing its brand image as a “technology-driven lifestyle solution.”
The key at this stage is the deep alignment between content and brand values, which strengthens user understanding and trust.
Brand-Led Production: From Content Consumer to IP Co-Creator
When brands possess sufficient content strategy capabilities and budgets, they take full control of the short drama production process. For example, Xianyu ignited platform buzz with a popular short drama and launched a “Write the Script” campaign, inviting users to participate in storyline creation.
This was followed by another production that became the first brand short drama project to involve “crowdsourced scriptwriting” by thousands, significantly boosting user engagement and brand affinity.
This interactive content creation transforms the brand’s role from mere storyteller to “planner of a user co-creation space,” deepening emotional bonds between users and the brand.
An Expansion Project in China? We Can Help You!
How Brands Can Choose the Right Social Media Platform
The ecosystem of Chinese short dramas varies significantly across different platforms, so brands should align their strategies with their own positioning and objectives.
Douyin
Douyin is ideal for high-frequency consumer categories such as beauty, skincare, and trendy fashion. Leading brands like Kans and Pechoin excel at combining engaging storylines with influencer-driven amplification to maximize the “content-to-commerce” effect.
Kuaishou
Kuaishou caters well to practical product categories, such as e-commerce and 3C electronics, where users value cost-effectiveness. Brands like Vivo, Tmall, and JD.com often use the platform to launch short dramas that spark viral product interest.
Taobao Short Dramas
Taobao short dramas are highly transaction-driven, making them suitable for major brands with strong conversion goals. For example, Lancôme and L’Oréal integrate promotional storylines with livestream shopping links, guiding viewers directly to purchase.
Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book)
Although Chinese short dramas are still relatively limited on Xiaohongshu, the platform’s lifestyle-oriented focus makes it well-suited for slow-burn, high-ticket brands aiming to build long-term brand image and trust.
Bilibili
Bilibili’s audience skews younger and more niche, with strong engagement in anime, gaming, and subcultures. It is a promising space for game developers and tech brands to experiment with co-created or interactive short drama content.
Chinese Short Dramas + Interactivity: “Watch and Buy”
As technology and content continue to converge, marketing through Chinese short dramas has evolved from simple “watch-to-discover” strategies into immersive, interactive “watch-and-buy” experiences.
During the 2025 “618” shopping festival, JD.com launched a series of short dramas where viewers could scan a QR code to enter livestream rooms, join red packet giveaways, and participate in flash sales. While the approach sparked debate over whether such “scan-to-buy” tactics felt overly aggressive, its conversion efficiency proved highly effective.
Moreover, JD.com introduced AI-powered digital avatars combined with “search-the-same-item” features in some Chinese short dramas. This allowed viewers to obtain real-time product links while watching the storyline, significantly enhancing the shopping journey.
This “content-as-the-entry-point” model reflects a broader shift—Chinese short dramas are progressively creating a seamless marketing loop that connects content, interaction, and transaction.
How to Measure the Effectiveness of Chinese Short Drama Marketing
The primary value of marketing through Chinese short dramas lies in brand exposure and image building. Therefore, the key performance indicators should focus on several dimensions.
- View count measures the breadth of audience reach.
- CPM (Cost Per Mille), or cost per thousand impressions, currently averages between 20 and 25 RMB in the industry, offering a higher cost-efficiency compared to in-feed ads.
- Engagement and conversion rates, such as likes, comments, click-throughs, and livestream conversions, indicate how effectively the content motivates user action.
- Brand awareness and preference lift can be assessed through surveys tracking changes in how consumers perceive the brand.
For instance, the skincare brand Kans partnered with artist Jiang Shiqi to create a brand-exclusive short drama. This not only refreshed the brand’s youth-oriented image but also boosted its monthly GMV from tens of millions to over 100 million RMB, making it a standout case in Chinese short drama marketing.
STAiiRS — Your Marketing Expert in the Chinese Market
In China, Chinese short dramas have evolved beyond a form of entertainment. They have become a powerful new marketing language. In the Chinese market, the value of short drama marketing lies not only in communication, but also in building deep relationships and fostering cultural resonance with audiences.
As a seasoned marketing expert deeply rooted in China, STAiiRS specializes in bridging global brand concepts with local Chinese culture. We help brands not only get noticed but also remembered. If you are looking to engage audiences, strengthen your brand influence, and seize new opportunities in China through short dramas, connect with STAiiRS today. Together, we can capture the next wave of growth in the Chinese market.
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