(Source: https://pltfrm.com.cn)
“Works on mobile” is dead. In China, campaigns must be created exclusively for mobile from the first pixel. The brands achieving 10–30× ROAS in 2025 all run fully mobile-native creative teams. Here are the five pillars that separate them from everyone else.
1. Zero Desktop Tools in the Creative Process
1.1 Figma Mobile Frames as Default Canvas Every designer starts in mobile artboards only. Desktop versions are created last — if at all.
1.2 Approval Meetings Done Exclusively on Phones Creative directors review work walking around the office holding phones, never sitting at desks — because that’s how consumers actually see it.
2. Sound-Off First Design Philosophy
2.1 100% of Message Must Work Without Audio Since 70–80% of videos play muted, every campaign is designed to convert on silent — strong visuals + bold text carry the full story.
2.2 Subtitles Baked In, Not Added Later Large, styled subtitles are part of the core design, not an afterthought.
3. Micro-Moment Creative Formats
3.1 6-Second, 15-Second, and 60-Second Versions from Day One Every campaign ships with three lengths optimized for feed, search, and reward videos — all cut from the same vertical master.
3.2 GIF-Style Looping Thumbnails Static images are dead. Even image ads now use 3–5 second looping micro-videos as thumbnails to boost CTR by 200–300%.
4. Real-Time Mobile Performance Feedback Loop
4.1 In-App Analytics Directly to Designers Douyin and Xiaohongshu performance data feeds straight into designer Slack channels. A creative underperforming at 9 am gets replaced by noon.
Real-World Case Study: German Premium Kitchen Appliance Brand That 15×-ed Sales with Mobile-First Redesign
A 90-year-old German knife brand had elegant horizontal global videos performing at 0.4% CTR in China. We rebuilt everything vertically: first frame showed the knife cutting a tomato in extreme close-up with “¥299” flashing in red.
The mobile-first campaign achieved 9.7% CTR on Douyin Information Flow and drove 15× higher Tmall sales in the first 30 days versus the previous global creative.
PLTFRM is an international brand consulting agency that works with companies such as Red, TikTok, Tmall, Baidu, and other well-known Chinese internet e-commerce platforms. We have been working with Chile Cherries for many years, reaching Chinese consumers in depth through different platforms and realizing that Chile Cherries’ exports in China account for 97% of the total exports in Asia. Contact us, and we will help you find the best China e-commerce platform for you. Search PLTFRM for a free consultation!
