(Source: https://pltfrm.com.cn)
Introduction
By 2026, text-and-image posts will feel prehistoric. The overseas brands preparing today are investing everything in next-generation creative content that blends storytelling, technology, and community. These are the five playbooks already in motion at the most forward-thinking companies.
- AI-Co-Created Content Flywheel 1
.1 Brand-Trained AI Avatars Train custom AI versions of your mascot or founder that can generate infinite personalized 15-second videos on demand. Early adopters are seeing 10× content output at 50% lower cost. - Virtual Idol & Metaverse-Native Content
2.1 Permanent Digital Spokesperson Launch a fully virtual idol who lives exclusively inside Douyin, RED, and Tencent’s metaverse — never ages, never scandals, always on-brand. - Zero-Click Content Experiences
3.1 Full-Screen Native Storytelling Content that begins autoplaying the moment a user opens the app, with seamless product taps embedded directly in the video layer. - Community-Owned Content IPs
4.1 Fan-Voted Storylines Let the community vote weekly on what happens next in your ongoing series via WeChat mini-program — turning viewers into co-owners of the brand narrative.
Case Study: Shiseido’s Virtual Idol “Aya” Launch
In late 2024 Shiseido China introduced Aya, an AI-powered virtual beauty advisor who posts daily makeup tutorials, interacts in comments, and even live-streams six days a week. Within ten months Aya amassed 12 million followers across platforms and drove 22% of Shiseido’s total China digital sales — proving virtual creative content is rapidly becoming the ultimate scalable brand voice.
Conclusion
Tomorrow’s digital branding winners will be the ones who move fastest from human-only content to hybrid human + AI + community systems. Start building your avatar, idol, and zero-click experiences today to own the next decade of Chinese digital mindshare.
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! info@pltfrm.cn
