Digital Marketing Trends in China: Q1 2025 Analysis

Market Sentiment and Budget Shifts

The Chinese digital marketing landscape is experiencing a notable transformation in early 2025. Marketing budget growth has moderated to 8% year-over-year, with 54% of advertisers planning to reduce their overall marketing investments. While established brands maintain a cautious outlook, emerging brands remain optimistic about their marketing initiatives despite industry-wide concerns.

Channel Investment Priorities

Mobile and out-of-home (OOH) advertising have emerged as primary investment focuses. Mobile internet attracts increased spending from 55% of advertisers, while 26% are boosting their OOH presence. Traditional media continues to see declining investment. Within digital channels, in-platform search has gained significant traction, with lifestyle platforms (87%), short-form video (67%), and platform-specific search (52%) becoming the top three investment priorities.

Content Strategy Evolution

Short-form video and influencer marketing remain crucial components of digital strategies. 65% of advertisers are increasing their investment in creator-driven content, while 46% are expanding their brand livestreaming efforts. Interest-based e-commerce is gaining momentum over social commerce platforms. Influencer marketing remains the dominant social media strategy for 74% of businesses, with user-generated content accounting for 37% of social media activities.

Performance Marketing Takes Center Stage

There’s a clear shift toward performance-driven advertising, with 53% of advertisers reducing brand-building campaigns in favor of direct-response initiatives. This reflects a growing emphasis on measurable ROI, particularly through short-video advertising and in-feed promotions.

AI Integration and Implementation

While AI adoption is accelerating, with 54% of advertisers using AI tools weekly, its application remains primarily concentrated in operational tasks. Only 28% currently leverage AI for marketing purposes, though 41% plan to implement AI-driven marketing solutions. Priority areas include campaign optimization (68%), user data analysis (52%), and content generation (37%).

Industry Challenges and Strategic Responses

Marketing effectiveness measurement (73%) and ROI improvement (65%) remain significant challenges, while competitive pressure has risen to become the third most pressing concern. In response, companies are:

• Implementing more realistic KPI frameworks (73% of businesses)
• Strengthening data analytics capabilities (52%)
• Enhancing cross-departmental collaboration (60% of local enterprises)

These trends suggest a marketing landscape increasingly driven by efficiency, measurability, and technological integration, with a growing focus on performance metrics and ROI optimization.