The recent sentencing of a former WPP Media executive on bribery charges and the collapse of Meta’s acquisition of AI company Manus provide clear signs that the ad dollar’s ability to vault borders has reached its limit in China.
A decade ago, holding company chiefs looked eastward from New York and London in the belief that China’s runaway economy and massive consumer base would provide them with the sustainable growth increasingly hard to guarantee shareholders in the mature digital markets where they were headquartered. Western creatives and media planners could learn from superapps, Singles Day and China’s distinct influencer (or “key opinion leaders,” as they’re typically called throughout the Asia-Pacific region, referred here as KOLs) and e-commerce sector.
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