iQIYI brings back iJOY International summit, remains committed to bringing stakeholder joy

This post is sponsored by iQIYI.

Hosting its second iJOY International Summit in Singapore, market-leading online entertainment service iQIYI reiterated its commitment to bring joy to all its stakeholders and showcased future opportunities for advertising partners.

The conference was attended by some of iQIYI’s partnering brands and agencies such as Lazada, Huawei, Singapore Tourism Board, IPG Mediabrands, MediaCom, OMD Worldwide, Publicis Groupe, PubMatic and The Trade Desk.

The annual iJOY International Summit showcased iQIYI’s upcoming content, market strategies and new partnership opportunities in line with the company’s philosophy of bringing joy to all its stakeholders including advertisers and partners. Understanding that brand marketing today is beyond having logo placements in shows, iQIYI pairs content and technology to offer high-quality solutions that establish emotional connections with users for deeper and positive impressions. Hence, the iJOY philosophy empowers brands to leverage iQIYI’s platform to bring joy and connect with users while being associated with positivity.

Recapping iQIYI’s achievements and performance in 2021, Yang Xianghua, president of the movie and overseas business group, iQIYI announced that the company concluded the year on a high note with the iQIYI International app ranking first in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. In 2021, the app was downloaded over 50 million times globally and its number of users tripled compared to the previous year.  

Since 2019, China’s leading online streaming media platform has been expanding its overseas business to cater high-quality Asian entertainment to users around the globe. Yang also highlighted that overseas business has become iQIYI’s most potential growth sector in the long-term future. Among the Southeast Asian countries the company operates in, Thailand is showing the highest growth momentum, with a year-on-year increase of nearly 700%. The growth rate in other countries and regions including the United States, South Korea, Australia and Southeast Asia hve also exceeded 100%. He credits these achievements to iQIYI’s continuous investment in high-quality content and enhancements of operational efficiency. 

As the home for pan-Asian content, iQIYI is focused on championing the best in Asian entertainment for the international audience through building an extensive slate of quality content. During the conference, iQIYI shared its direction to further expand its overseas reach through refinement, diversification and localisation as part of its content strategy.  

The company cemented its commitment to continuously create quality content for its viewers through collaborations with top talents to establish market differentiation. Over the next two years, iQIYI will be investing in over 200 original Chinese-language dramas overseas that expand across various genres including romance, costume fantasy, female-centric, adventure and more to meet the diverse demands of its global audience.  

In the Southeast Asia region, iQIYI continues investing in local content following the immense success of its first Thai original drama KinnPorsche:The Series La Forte and have recently kickstarted the production of two Malaysian originals Sorry Naik Lori and Rampas Cintaku which are set to be released within the year.  

“IQIYI has attained a leadership position in Malaysia on the back of our strong Asian content proposition, superior user experience and freemium model. In addition to the great traction gained from the Chinese content audience and cross consumption, our local content has also been driving steady viewership. More local original productions are in the pipeline as we are driven to provide brands with even more customised and creative integrated marketing solutions through our originals, in addition to our current suite of solutions,” said Dinesh Ratnam, country manager for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. 

Aiming to provide the best innovative solutions for its partners, iQIYI also proactively connects its advertising partners with local producers and artists in joint business partnerships. Citing the spectacular global success of KinnPorsche: The Series La Forte, Kelvin Yau, head of Southeast Asia, shared that the online streaming platform has been connecting the drama’s production house and cast with various sponsoring globally-renowned brands.

“Our focus lies on developing joint business partnerships and we continuously advise our Chinese brand partners to leverage our OTT platform and the solutions we offer to expand and grow their brand in the Southeast Asian region. Our dedicated local business team will allocate all resources possible to deliver the most effective campaigns to benefit both our agencies and production partners,” he added.

IQIYI’s increasing success from its premium content, especially its Thai and Malay titles have given rise to content-based and customised advertising solutions, and successful use cases on the platform in Southeast Asia. The company continues to explore the future of entertainment and advertising through advanced innovation to provide the best solutions to its advertising partners.  

Elaine Tan, head of sales, Southeast Asia highlighted that iQIYI’s video and display advertising formats have been favoured by advertisers.

“The addition of new formats and creative buy solutions we offer provides advertisers with more options in their media selections to choose from. Our wide range of solutions ranges from animated creatives to branded tab sponsorships and in-program integrations. Partnering with iQIYI, brands and advertisers will have the opportunity to integrate their brand and their key messaging within our premium video ecosystem,” she said.

IQIYI remains steadfast in its direction to better viewer experiences and provide tailored solutions for its partners through creation of new advertising and content formats. The company hopes to add value to the industry while providing its partners with solutions and content that resonate with its global audience.