Sina News Features BINGO Digital in In-Depth Interview on Five Growth Realities Shaping China’s Digital Marketing Market in 2026

BINGO Digital Founder and Chief Executive Officer Wallace Pang has outlined five forces reshaping China’s digital marketing market in 2026, arguing that brands will gain little from artificial intelligence if they continue to use it only as a faster content-production tool.

In a recent interview, Pang drew on extensive market research and BINGO Digital’s work across different industries to examine why many brands are struggling to translate AI investment into commercial growth. The resulting feature, titled BINGO Digital Interview: The Overlooked Growth Realities We Found as AI Reshapes China’s Marketing Market, has been published by Sina News, one of mainland China’s leading media platforms.

The research behind the interview was led by BINGO Digital and covered 12 major sectors, including retail, beauty, consumer electronics and local services. The team conducted in-depth interviews with more than 300 brands of varying sizes and collected over 20,000 valid consumer questionnaires.

Together, the findings point to a market moving in two directions at once. Technology is making marketing faster and more efficient, but consumers are placing greater value on trust, relevance and genuine human connection. According to Pang, many brands have failed to reconcile these two shifts. Their difficulties often arise not from a lack of tools, but from a limited understanding of where technology should sit within the wider business.

During the two-hour interview, Pang and the BINGO Digital team identified five areas in which the gap between industry enthusiasm and practical execution has become particularly clear.

Why Widespread AI Adoption Has Yet to Produce Widespread Growth

AI marketing dominated industry discussion over the past year. Yet many brands report the same experience: budgets have been committed, tools have been purchased and content output has increased, but the commercial return remains difficult to identify.

The contrast is striking. Data from Analysys indicates that China’s AI marketing SaaS and agent market reached RMB 47.1 billion in 2025 and is expected to rise to RMB 174.7 billion by 2030. Figures from Omnicom Media and TBWA also show that monthly active users of AI-native applications in mainland China exceeded 304 million by October 2025, representing year-on-year growth of 190%.

AI is no longer a niche channel. It is changing how consumers look for information, compare alternatives and decide what to buy.

Corporate adoption, however, has not kept pace with that change. BINGO Digital’s research found that more than 78% of businesses were still using AI mainly to generate copy and images in bulk. A further 62% continued to approach search marketing through conventional SEO practices without adapting to the rules of generative search.

Content quality has become another problem. Some 81% of brands said they were contending with repetitive content and weak consumer trust. Their campaigns might generate a brief spike in attention, but rarely create an enduring advantage.

Pang cautioned against treating AI as a universal remedy.

“The brands that benefit from AI are not necessarily those buying the most tools,” he said. “They are the ones applying the technology to real business situations and turning a single customer interaction into a relationship built on long-term trust.”

This thinking underpins BINGO Digital’s approach to full-funnel AI deployment. Using AI for one isolated task may reduce a particular cost. Embedding it across the marketing operation—from customer insight and campaign planning to conversion and retention—offers a better chance of changing business performance at scale.

AI Transformation Is Not About Producing Hundreds of Posts a Day

Many companies now describe themselves as “AI-enabled” because they have purchased a generative tool and can produce hundreds of pieces of content each day. The weakness in that approach becomes visible when year-end figures are reviewed.

Labour costs may decline slightly. Core indicators such as media conversion, repeat purchases and customer lifetime value often do not.

The research found a substantial performance gap between companies using AI only for content creation and those applying it across the customer and marketing lifecycle.

Among businesses that limited AI to content generation, average improvement in marketing productivity was just 18%. More than 60% said the return on their AI investment had fallen short of expectations.

The results were markedly different when AI was integrated across customer insight, strategy, creative production, media optimisation, customer interaction, sales conversion and after-sales service. These companies reported an average 65% increase in marketing productivity and a 48% improvement in media ROI. The difference in overall benefit was more than threefold.

Pang does not believe every brand needs to transform its entire operation at once. A more practical starting point is to connect creative production with advertising delivery.

This use case can often produce measurable feedback within 30 days. Brands can test the technology against actual campaign results while teams begin learning how to work with a connected data loop. Creative assets are no longer produced and assessed in isolation; media performance informs what should be created next.

Pang also warned companies against buying general-purpose large language models without first defining the commercial problem. General models are powerful, but they are not designed around the specific workflows, media platforms and constraints of every industry. Brands should prioritise tools that connect with China’s major media ecosystems and offer capabilities relevant to their own sectors.

BINGO Digital’s proprietary AI marketing system is integrated with key mainland traffic platforms, including ByteDance’s Ocean Engine, Baidu Marketing, Alimama and the WeChat ecosystem. Its industry-specific solutions connect creative production with campaign delivery and performance feedback.

According to BINGO Digital’s service data, brands that have implemented its full-funnel AI marketing framework have achieved an average improvement of more than 40% in marketing ROI.

Generative Search Is Rewriting the Rules of Brand Discovery

Consumer search behaviour has already moved beyond the familiar list of blue links. Increasingly, people ask AI systems a complete question and expect a direct, synthesised recommendation.

Many marketers are still responding with an old playbook.

BINGO Digital’s research found that only 12% of mainland Chinese brands had established a systematic Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO, content framework. The remaining majority risk losing visibility as more product research and purchasing decisions begin inside AI-generated answers.

Pang drew a clear distinction between conventional SEO and GEO. SEO is largely concerned with how search engines crawl, evaluate and rank pages for particular keywords. GEO focuses on how AI systems interpret, select and recommend information.

For brands, the goal is no longer confined to appearing high on a results page. Their information must be sufficiently clear, consistent and credible to become a preferred answer when an AI system responds to a customer’s question.

That requires a different content base. Pang identified four areas that brands should prioritise: comparative product reviews, authentic user testing and experience, scenario-based solutions, and evidence supported by authoritative data or recognised industry standards.

Platform differences matter as well. Baidu’s AI search tends to draw on authoritative text and visual material available across the wider web. Douyin’s AI search gives greater prominence to short-form video within its own platform. WeChat’s AI search is closely connected to content from Official Accounts, Channels and Mini Program services.

A single article republished everywhere is therefore unlikely to be enough. Brands need platform-specific combinations of text, imagery and video, while keeping essential company and product information consistent across the internet. Conflicting descriptions, outdated specifications or inaccurate third-party references can be picked up by AI systems and weaken the brand’s likelihood of being recommended.

BINGO Digital was among the earlier digital agencies to develop GEO services for brands entering China. It has since helped dozens of international brands establish structured generative-search content systems, covering content architecture, source consistency and distribution across multiple platforms.

The company reports that brands completing a systematic GEO programme achieved an average increase of 215% in qualified exposure within AI search environments.

In a Mature Market, Content Becomes a Long-Term Customer Asset

Customer acquisition has become more expensive, and the pool of easily available new traffic is shrinking. Even so, a number of brands recorded revenue growth in 2025 despite difficult market conditions.

Their strategies shared one notable feature. Among the brands in this group, 86% treated content marketing as a core business strategy rather than a campaign support function. Customers retained through owned media channels recorded a repurchase rate 4.7 times that of users reached through a one-off interaction on public traffic platforms.

These figures reflect a broader shift in marketing. Precise targeting still matters, but reaching the right consumer once is not the same as building a durable relationship.

Brands need to connect customer behaviour across the full journey: initial discovery, active interest, purchase, repeat purchase and retention. When these signals are brought together, businesses can build dynamic customer profiles and deliver more relevant content or service at each stage.

The objective is to move beyond recognition of a product’s functional value and towards lasting trust in the brand.

Consumer behaviour in mainland China adds another layer of complexity. Shoppers are highly sensitive to value in frequent, everyday purchases. Sales through discount retailers in the fast-moving consumer goods market rose by 92% during the first three quarters of 2025.

Yet consumers will still pay for products and experiences that carry emotional meaning, support self-expression or reflect personal values. Price sensitivity and emotional spending are not contradictory. They often exist in the same customer.

Brands must therefore meet rational expectations through dependable products and credible value, then build emotional relevance at moments when customers are receptive to a deeper message. An inflated brand story cannot compensate for a weak product. Equally, a strong product may struggle to command loyalty if the company never develops a recognisable point of view.

BINGO Digital’s full-funnel growth model is designed to connect public-channel discovery with private-domain customer operations. It links content seeding and traffic conversion with retention and repurchase, allowing brands to retain customer data and develop an audience that can be managed over time.

The aim is not simply to generate another sale. It is to create a continuous path from product acceptance to brand trust.

AI Video Is Becoming a Dynamic Marketing Asset

Some industry observers have called 2026 the first true year of interactive video marketing. Yet more than 70% of brands in BINGO Digital’s study were using AI video only to produce short-form creative assets in larger quantities.

That is the most immediate application, but not the most consequential one.

AI video technology can reduce conventional production costs by more than 90% and shorten a process that once took more than ten days to a matter of hours. This makes video production accessible to more brands and allows campaigns to respond faster to market changes.

Its deeper value lies elsewhere. Video can now move beyond being a pre-produced message distributed in one direction. It can become interactive, personalised, continuously optimised and, in some cases, capable of completing a transaction without sending the viewer through a long external journey.

Brands already using AI video for personalised delivery and interactive marketing recorded an average 38% increase in advertising click-through rates, a 27% improvement in conversion rates and a 42% increase in viewing time, according to the research.

Three capabilities are driving those results.

First, AI can generate multiple video variations from product libraries and customer data. Creative elements can be adjusted for different audience groups, helping brands personalise campaigns without abandoning the scale required for paid media.

Second, the video itself can become part of the conversion process. Clickable links, coupon prompts and real-time conversations with AI-powered digital presenters can be embedded within the experience. A customer may ask a question, submit contact details or complete a purchase without leaving the video environment.

Third, performance data can feed directly back into production. Completion rates, exit points and viewing duration can be monitored in real time. The structure of the video can then be adjusted according to where viewers lose interest or take action.

This changes the commercial life of a video. Instead of remaining a fixed asset until the next campaign, it can continue learning from audience behaviour and improving over time.

BINGO Digital’s AI video solution automates the process from product-material generation and audience-specific delivery to real-time performance optimisation. It is already being applied in e-commerce, local services, education and other sectors to improve both content efficiency and conversion.

BINGO Digital expressed its appreciation to Sina News for publishing the interview. The company said the report captured several of the pressures now facing brands in China and reflected the team’s practical experience in AI marketing technology and full-funnel digital services.

Pang stressed that technology should always serve commercial growth. It is a means, not the final objective.

“The essence of marketing has not changed,” he said. “It is still about the connection between a brand and people.”

BINGO Digital plans to continue investing in research and development while closely tracking changes in technology and consumer behaviour. The company also intends to publish further market-specific insights that brands can apply to real operating decisions.

Its longer-term goal is to help Chinese and international companies find viable routes to growth in China—routes that are measurable, resilient and sustainable beyond the next campaign cycle.

BINGO Digital, also known as BINGO Digi, is a global digital marketing services group with operations including BINGO(HK) and BINGO(SG).

BINGO(HK), positioned as a leading digital marketing services provider in Hong Kong, has delivered more than 8,000 projects and client engagements. Its client base includes Hong Kong public-sector organisations, multinational companies and established local brands.

The group is led by former directors from 4A advertising agencies, senior technology specialists formerly with Alibaba and a former Deloitte big-data director. Combining international market experience with practical knowledge of China, BINGO Digital provides end-to-end digital marketing solutions spanning strategic positioning, brand building and e-commerce growth.

AI and Data Research Capabilities

BINGO Digital has invested tens of millions of renminbi in its research and development centre. Drawing on industry data and experience from a broad range of commercial scenarios, the company has built an AI large-model application platform for vertical marketing use cases.

The platform combines established internet technology infrastructure with continuously updated consumer-behaviour insights. It supports AI marketing solutions and intelligent media-delivery systems designed specifically for the Chinese market.

Global Reach with Local Execution

The group operates 15 service locations worldwide, covering markets including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong. It also has offices in ten major mainland Chinese cities.

This network allows the company to combine international strategy with local market execution rather than treating China as a single, uniform media environment.

Platform Partnerships and Creator Resources

BINGO Digital has established official partnerships with major Chinese traffic platforms, including WeChat, Douyin, Baidu and Xiaohongshu.

Its mainland creator network includes more than 10,000 KOLs and KOCs across categories such as beauty, fashion, parenting and technology. Data-led models are used to support creator selection and performance assessment.

Commercial Growth Strategy

Working alongside capital and financial institutions, BINGO Digital brings macroeconomic and capital-market perspectives into its advisory work. Its strategy team, which includes consultants with postgraduate business and management qualifications, advises brands on positioning, product portfolios, channel design and commercialisation.

BINGO Digital’s services cover the complete brand-growth journey and are organised across three connected areas.

Brand Awareness and Audience Reach

The company plans and operates content ecosystems across WeChat Official Accounts and Mini Programs, Douyin short video and livestreaming, and Xiaohongshu. These services are supported by offline activations, brand communications projects and data-informed KOL and KOC ambassador programmes.

Traffic Conversion and Customer Operations

Its performance services include Baidu SEO and SEM, targeted information-feed advertising and GEO for generative search.

BINGO Digital also develops private-domain membership and WeCom-assisted sales systems around the WeChat ecosystem. Proprietary data dashboards track indicators such as return on advertising spend, customer acquisition cost and customer lifetime value in real time.

E-commerce and O2O Integration

The group provides operational support for major e-commerce platforms, including Tmall, JD.com and Douyin E-commerce, while also building and managing WeChat Mini Program stores.

Online traffic can then be connected with physical retail operations, creating an O2O sales structure across digital and offline channels.

BINGO Digital operates according to three core commitments: Outcome-first, Privacy-by-design and AI at scale. Through the continued development of its China Digital Growth engine, the company aims to become a trusted digital partner for global brands entering and expanding within the Chinese market.

Brands seeking further information about digital marketing in China or AI-led growth strategies may contact the BINGO Digital team to arrange a one-to-one consultation.