Listed Advertising Firms Enter Window for Technological Upgrade and Business Restructuring

According to Securities Daily on 22 October 2026, seven central government departments including the State Administration for Market Regulation have jointly issued the *15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Advertising Industry*.

The document sets out targets up to 2030. The advertising industry will record an average annual growth rate of around 10 per cent in scale, with steady improvements in the quality of market participants. Investment in research, development and creative work will keep rising, and digital and intelligent capacity will increase markedly. The sector will offer stronger support for industrial upgrading and consumption growth, and push forward global brand development. Small, medium and large enterprises will achieve integrated growth, with deeper collaboration along industrial chains and new progress in balanced regional development. The quality of advertising works will rise noticeably, with more high-quality cultural productions and improved mechanisms for public service advertising. Advertising legislation will be further refined, law enforcement efficiency will improve, and public satisfaction will keep rising.

The traditional advertising model faces structural pain points such as long creative cycles, low delivery precision and difficulties in measuring campaign outcomes. The roll-out of AIGC, marketing large language models and industrial intelligent agents provides technical support for industrial transformation.

Official data released by the State Administration for Market Regulation shows that advertising revenue from public institutions and above-scale enterprises nationwide exceeded 2 trillion yuan for the first time in 2025, reaching 20,502.1 billion yuan. The figure doubled compared with the 2020 level, representing an average annual growth rate of 16.8 per cent.

Multiple A-share listed advertising companies have accelerated the development of technical infrastructure and integrated artificial intelligence into daily operations.

Guangdong Insee Brand Marketing Group has positioned AI marketing as a core strategic priority. The firm is building an intelligent marketing framework covering strategic planning, content creation, media placement, reputation management and performance optimisation, supported by one unified AI technical base for brand building, sales conversion and revenue generation.

Focus Media Information Technology has increased investment in technological innovation to lift industrial efficiency. The company aims to help advertisers cut marketing costs and raise communication efficiency, while turning every marketing spend into long-term brand equity. It has also expanded its elevator media network across multiple overseas regions to support Chinese brands entering international markets.

Yidian Tianxia Network Technology stated on an investor interaction platform that it is an early business partner of OpenAI in advertising services. The firm now delivers marketing technology services and acts as an authorised agent for OpenAI’s advertising products.

The industry still faces tangible barriers to digital transformation. High research and development costs for AI marketing create financial pressure for small and medium-sized operators. The supply of cross-disciplinary talent with both technical and creative skills remains insufficient. Rules governing content compliance and copyright protection for AI-generated advertising material still need further refinement.

With the roll-out of supporting policy rules, maturing technical solutions and improved talent pipelines, the pace of digital and intelligent transformation will continue to pick up. The advertising sector will maintain its role as a link between production and consumption, supporting both domestic economic circulation and the global expansion of Chinese brands.