Shanghai International Advertising Festival opens in Putuo

The ninth Shanghai International Advertising Festival is taking place from Aug 26 to 28 at the Shanghai Banma Suhe International Conference Center in Putuo district, bringing together industry professionals from China and abroad to explore the integration of artificial intelligence and digital advertising.

Under the theme "Smart Innovation, Quality Growth", the event features conferences, exhibitions, and industry activities covering AI marketing, brand building, and digital advertising governance.

The 1,500-square-meter exhibition showcases digital advertising innovations and Shanghai brands, featuring four major digital advertising parks and dozens of local brands.

Putuo has hosted the festival for several consecutive years and has built a robust digital advertising ecosystem. As of June, the district had more than 1,700 digital advertising companies, and the International Digital Advertisement Zone Shanghai housed 311 digital advertising and related enterprises.

The district recently received approval from China's State Administration for Market Regulation to launch a three-year pilot for the Shanghai (Putuo) National Digital Advertising Industrial Park, making it one of China's first national-level pilot zones and the only one in Shanghai.

Putuo district plans to use this to strengthen digital advertising innovation, industry standards, resource clustering, and global services. It aims to generate more than 50 billion yuan ($7.42 billion) in advertising revenue this year and reach 100 billion yuan during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).