The Shanghai International Advertising Festival (SHIAF) 2025 opened in Putuo district on Sept 9, spotlighting the deep integration of artificial intelligence with the advertising industry.

At the opening ceremony, the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation released 12 new measures to support AI-driven innovation in advertising and accelerate the industry's transformation.

The measures focus on key areas such as "AI+ digital advertising" development, financial support, and talent cultivation, including up to 12 million yuan ($1.68 million) in funding for R&D and high-quality projects related in AI advertising.

The city's advertising industry generated 335.1 billion yuan in revenue in 2024, an 8.4 percent increase from the previous year and more than double the 2020 figure, according to the 2024 White Paper on the Development of Shanghai's Advertising Industry released at the event.

The festival features a series of events, including the opening ceremony, professional forums, and industry matchmaking meetings, creating a high-value international exchange platform for broadening the vision, integrating resources and promoting cooperation. Key events include the Digital Advertising Forum, the Forum on Digital Advertising Development and Governance, and the Yangtze River Delta Brand and Advertising Ecosystem Conference.

​Highlighting innovation, the "top 10 innovation cases in Shanghai's digital advertising industry" were released at the event, featuring breakthroughs from major groups and creative business models from small and medium-sized startups.

The festival also hosted a financing matchmaking event to facilitate the growth of advertising companies. Organizers of the SHIAF Awards signed a strategic cooperation agreement with One Asia Creative Awards to enhance collaboration and jointly advance the growth of the creative industry in China.

Source: Official WeChat account of Shanghai Putuo Media Center at "shputuo"