Micro Drama Marketing: Alipay Gamifies Savings

With more than 400,000 users (Alipay, 2024), Scripted Savings narratives follow popular micro-drama genres, such as romance, career-ladder climbing and high-profile stardom. Instead of traditional microtransactions or subscription fees to unlock episodes, Alipay customers progress by selecting paid plot options (between 8 and 160 yuan, equivalent to $1.10 to $22.50), with transactions then deposited into a savings account. For example, in a career-focused narrative, users choose a hot beverage to start their day, ranging from tea at 10 yuan ($1.40) to a coffee at 30 yuan ($4.20).

Alipay’s strategy follows a Chinese social media trend that gained momentum in early 2024 on image-sharing platform Xiaohongshu under a hashtag translating to “pretend and save”. Users created their own narratives, from owning a fictional pet to more outlandish scenarios – such as being royalty in a war-torn country – to motivate themselves to save money.

Others are also using micro-drama marketing to engage Chinese consumers. Local skincare brand Kans gained the top position in Douyin’s (China’s TikTok equivalent) 2023 skincare sales, partially generated by the success of five mini-dramas comprising 16 three-minute episodes and featuring Chinese actress and influencer Jiang Shiqi (37 million followers). Users could shop featured Kans products by clicking on them on-screen during the action.

The micro-drama format is also adopted by respected Chinese filmmakers – such as actor-director Stephen Chow (known for his comedic Hollywood parody films), whose (non-brand-led) debut micro-drama gained a million views in its first hour of posting – demonstrating the micro-drama format’s longevity and growing prestige.