Dentsu has unveiled its 2026 China Media Landscape report, highlighting a market shift from control to empowerment as brands and consumers navigate a new era defined by K-shaped consumption, media centralization, and an all-in embrace of AI. 

“Drawing on dentsu’s latest analysis of China’s fast-evolving media and commerce ecosystems, the report provides brand leaders with a practical lens on where growth can be unlocked, how consumers are seeking new meaning beyond rational value, and what that means for media investment across platforms, content and commerce,” said Richard Frampton, Chief Strategy Officer, dentsu China. 

“At dentsu, we help our clients focus on impact and momentum by aligning brand and performance, designing cross-ecosystem strategies, and strengthening measurement against meaningful business outcomes. We work with brands to design end-to-end solutions that compound advantage over time.” 

Looking Back at 2025: A Year of Seeking Control 

The report highlights four dynamics that shaped the year and set the stage for what comes next: deglobalisation amid uncertainty, K-shaped consumption, Omnichannel lock-in & loop-in, AI and the risk of being shallow. Together, they point to a market demanding deeper localization in China’s hyper-competitive landscape, sharper positioning amid polarized consumers, a stronger focus on brand truth as ecosystem barriers rise, and higher expectations for AI that is genuinely embedded rather than bolted on. 

Pivot to 2026: Finding empowerment 

Turning 2026, dentsu’s report forecasts an environment where consumers and brands increasingly prioritize empowerment across consumer choices, brand decisions and productivity: 

• Emotional Value Rules: With growth steady and grounding confidence, the “social clock” is reset as consumers slow down and explore deeper meaning. Sliver generation moves to experiential consumption, and youth culture moves to mainstream appeal. 
• Media Centricity Fuels Brand-centric Strategy: After nearly a decade without major media disruption, ecosystems iterate and centralize to gain share of wallets. As trust in algorithmic “black boxes” erodes, success shifts toward cross-ecosystem strategies and holistic measurement anchored in true brand and business impact. 
• AI Goes All-In: AI becomes infrastructural – dramatically lowering cost and scaling application. Despite concerns, China’s acceptance of AI throughout use-cases is world leading. It’s seen as a “second brain” to manage information overload and enable self-development. 

What marketers should watch across channels in 2026 

The report also maps key shifts across eight areas of the media and commerce landscape: 

1. Macro market & consumer: As consumers settle into a new pace of growth – prioritizing both rational and emotional value – brands must respond by localizing their propositions and leveraging data and technology for smarter efficiency. 
2. Media spends: Ad spend continues to outgrow the broader economy, with momentum concentrated in digital and social. Most categories remain highly competitive, forcing advertisers to seek innovative and strategic ways to deepen connection and create an advantage beyond optimization of efficiency. 
3. Digital ecosystems: China’s internet giants continue to consolidate power and user time-spent to expand end-to-end experiences. Brands must set their own priorities for focused efforts within and across ecosystems. 
4. TV & video: Connected TV (OTV and OTT) continue to gain share, VIP penetration exceeds one-third of smart TV penetration. Reach-based video remains a critical brand-building weapon, and digitization brings more options for targeting and formats. 
5. Influencer: China’s role as the leading market in the influence economy grows, as platforms commercialize and content gets smarter at selling. As ‘tail’ level KOL and KOS proliferate, influencer activity should be deeply ingrained in total marketing strategy, as empowered consumers seek peer-peer advice. 
6. Out of home: The booming outdoors economy fuels domestic & international tourism and daily city exploration, solidifying the role of OOH. As OOH evolves rapidly with new and connected formats and rapid urban development, brands need to consider outdoor options early to secure prime spaces and innovate. 
7. Content: Both micro and long-form content are booming as content investment benefits from a more mature commercial ecosystem. In an increasingly saturated content and IP market, achieving cut-through is harder than ever – brands need a clear strategy and approach to grow in culture. 
8. Ecommerce: As commerce platforms seek to smooth out barriers to buying, consumption becomes instant, integrated and intelligent. To empower growth, brands need to avoid siloed optimization and look for holistic performance initiatives and to harness tech-driven solutions. 

To download the full report and explore dentsu’s more insights, please check here: https://www.dentsu.com/cn/en/our-latest-thinking