Advertising planning and buying
Reach the right people. Not just more people.
We plan, buy, and optimize ad campaigns across WeChat, Douyin, RedNote, and Weibo. Fixed management fee. Transparent ad spend.
The case for paid
Why advertising is almost mandatory
Organic reach builds a following over time. But it can't target women aged 25 to 34 in Shanghai who searched for "natural skincare" last week. Advertising can.
It's faster
Organic takes months. A well-targeted campaign can drive conversions within days.
It's precise
Target by age, gender, city tier, interests, device, purchase behavior, and content interaction history. Ads go where you point them.
It scales
Test with ¥5,000 on Monday and scale to ¥50,000 by Friday if the numbers work. Try doing that with organic content.
But it's not free
A poorly planned campaign burns budget faster than no campaign at all. Media planning, daily optimization, and clear KPIs matter just as much as the ads themselves.
What we do
Media planning
Media planning
Before we spend a single yuan, we build the plan. Which platforms, which formats, which audience segments, how much per channel, and what the expected cost per result looks like.
Campaign setup and optimization
Full cycle. Account setup, creative upload, audience targeting, bid strategy, A/B testing. Optimized daily. A creative that worked Monday can fatigue by Thursday.
Platform coverage
We run campaigns on Ocean Engine (Douyin), Tencent Ads (WeChat), Juguang (RedNote), and Weibo Fan Tong. We know where the settings that matter are buried.
Full service
From creative to compliance to reporting
An ad that looks like an ad gets skipped. An ad that looks like content gets watched. We produce creatives for each platform's format and swap them out before performance drops. AI handles production volume. Our team handles creative direction.
Retargeting and custom audiences
Someone watched 50% of your Douyin video but didn't click? Retarget them with a different angle. A user visited your Mini Program but left without buying? Show them a follow-up. On RedNote, you can build audiences from users who engaged with specific notes or searched specific keywords. Often where the best ROAS comes from.
Compliance and ad approval
Every platform has its own ad review process. Some industries face restrictions or outright bans. We handle content compliance pre-checks, the approval workflow, and flag industry-specific restrictions before you commit any budget.
Performance reporting
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is the number we organize everything around. We also track CPC, CPM, CTR, CPA, conversion rate, and frequency. Weekly reports during active campaigns. Monthly summaries. For larger budgets, real-time dashboard access.
Transparent spend
Ad spend is billed separately. No markups. No hidden agency fees on media. You see exactly where every yuan goes.
Ad formats and pricing
WeChat (via Tencent Ads)
Prices below are based on Q1 2026 data and our own benchmarks. They'll help you plan. They're not quotes.
Moments ads
Native ads in users' social feed. Carousel (up to six cards), autoplay video (6-15 sec), or canvas (full-screen on tap). 122 interest sub-categories. Auction from ¥1,000/day. CPM ¥50 to ¥180 by city tier.
Banner ads
Bottom or middle of Official Account articles. CPC from ¥0.5. CPM ¥15 to ¥25. Cost per new follower: ¥8 to ¥20. Most affordable format.
Channels ads
Video ads in WeChat's short-video feed. CPM ¥2 to ¥13. Less saturated than Moments.
Search ads (搜一搜)
Keyword-based in WeChat search results. CPC model. Growing format, still underused.
Ad formats and pricing
Douyin (via Ocean Engine)
In-feed ads
Up to 60-second video in the "For You" scroll. CPC from ¥0.2. CPM ¥10 to ¥50. Supports e-commerce links, lead forms, Douyin Shop. The main performance format.
TopView
Full-screen video at app open. 3-60 seconds, autoplay with sound. Tier 1 cities: ¥1M+/day. Minimum ¥200,000+.
Search ads
Keyword-based, CPC. Captures high-intent users. Works well paired with in-feed.
Hashtag challenges
¥200,000 to ¥500,000. When they work, organic amplification dwarfs the spend. We only recommend when the concept is strong and the brand has enough audience to seed participation.
Shop cards
Direct-response units on videos linking to Douyin Shop. Conversion rates 20-30% higher than standard link ads.
Brand takeover
Static image or GIF, 3-5 seconds at app open. One brand per day. High impact, high cost.
Ad formats and pricing
RedNote / Xiaohongshu (via Juguang)
In-feed ads
Sponsored notes in the discovery feed. CPM ¥10 to ¥30, roughly 10-20% of Douyin rates. CPC from ¥0.3. Min budget ¥5,000. Most cost-effective platform for product discovery as of early 2026.
Search ads
Boost note rankings for keywords. CPC. Over 70% of active users search daily, a stat that surprises most people.
KOL seeding (Pugongying)
Brands pay creators for organic-looking content. Micro-KOC (Key Opinion Consumer) from ¥500/post. Mid-tier ¥5,000 to ¥30,000. Top-tier ¥50,000+.
Brand zone and splash ads
Brand zone: dedicated landing page in RedNote search, ¥50,000+. Splash ads: full-screen at app open, ¥50,000+. Best for major launches.
Getting started
From discovery call to first ads live in two weeks.
Discovery call.
Your brand, your goals, and what you're looking to spend. We'll figure out the right approach.
Media plan.
Platform recommendations, budget allocation, and projected KPIs. Clear scope. Fixed management fee.
Ads live in 2 weeks.
Account setup, creative production, and campaign launch. Daily optimization from day one.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about advertising in China with TheRedScroll.
Depends on the platform. RedNote from ¥5,000. Douyin in-feed from ¥1,000/day. WeChat Moments ¥1,000/day minimum. We recommend ¥15,000 to ¥30,000/month to collect enough data for real optimization.
Yes. Spend goes to the platform. We don't mark it up. Our fee covers strategy, setup, creative, and reporting.
Traffic campaigns: first week. Conversions: two to three weeks of optimization. Brand awareness: 30 to 60 days.
We audit first. Campaigns, targeting, creatives, spend allocation. Then rebuild what's broken. Common issues: wrong format, stale creatives, targeting too broad, nobody optimizing day to day.
Yes. Video, image, copy for each platform. Creative direction is human-led. Production gets an AI boost through HubStudio.ai.
Boosting is simple but limited. A campaign gives you precise targeting, creative testing, conversion goals, bid optimization, and ROAS tracking. The gap in results is usually significant.
For e-commerce and direct-response, pretty much always. For brand awareness, we switch to CPM and reach. The point is: we define what success looks like before launch, not after.
Yes, and in most cases you should. Douyin + RedNote covers awareness and discovery. WeChat retargets people who engaged elsewhere. We figure out the mix based on your goals and what you can spend.
Most platforms won't let you into the ad manager without it. We handle the process. Takes one to three weeks.
Fixed fee for creative work. Ad spend is separate and goes straight to the platforms. No confusion there.