Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical Makes Industry-First Cross-Over Marketing Move at ChinaJoy with 'Jianghuo Xia' Campaign

At the recently concluded 13th China Digital Interactive Entertainment Expo (ChinaJoy), Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical leveraged the event to launch its “Fire-Reducing Hero” campaign, partnering with major game publishers to distribute Zhongsheng Pills. Marking a departure from its traditionally serious corporate image, the pharmaceutical company made its debut at a gaming expo, engaging in cross-industry marketing.

Live Distribution of Zhongsheng Pills: 600,000 Viewers Watch the Live Stream

At the recently held 13th China Digital Interactive Entertainment Expo (ChinaJoy), more than 700 internet exhibitors gathered at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. Amidst a sea of game-themed performers, “Zhongsheng Wan” and “Jianghuo Xia” made an unconventional entrance, distributing “Zhongsheng Wan” to numerous exhibitor staff and attendees. This unique presence drew large crowds of onlookers who stopped to watch, take photos, pose for pictures, and interact with the characters.

An internet live-streaming platform broadcast the event in real time, attracting over 600,000 concurrent online viewers and quickly becoming a focal point of online attention. Additionally, during the event, reporters from multiple gaming media outlets conducted on-site interviews with the event organizers, expressing strong interest in the traditional pharmaceutical company’s promotion of the “Zhongsheng Wan” brand at a gaming exhibition.

Zhongsheng Wan Makes Its Debut at Game Expo, Playing the Cross-Industry Card

The launch of “Zhongsheng Wan” at a gaming exhibition marks the first instance of such an initiative in brand marketing by pharmaceutical manufacturing enterprises. According to Xiao Lingfei, head of internet business at Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical, “The internet has become a common marketing tool. How to leverage this tool effectively to facilitate communication between pharmaceutical companies and consumers has emerged as a significant new issue for the industry.”

Regarding this event, he noted that ChinaJoy, as the largest gaming convention in China and even worldwide, attracts a massive internet user base, with on-site attendance reaching 400,000 and online followers exceeding ten million. This high level of focus presents an excellent opportunity for brand exposure. Held during scorching summer heat, we partnered with game publishers to launch the “Cooling Hero Distributes Zhongsheng Wan” campaign. This initiative addressed the actual needs of gamers and exhibition staff facing “high temperatures, high density, and high intensity” conditions, creating a genuine demand for “cooling down.” The “Cooling Hero” character, with its fresh and appealing image, aligns well with the aesthetic preferences of the predominantly male, homebody gamer demographic, thereby capturing user attention and fostering word-of-mouth promotion. As there is no precedent for pharmaceutical companies engaging in cross-industry marketing at gaming conventions, the event itself inherently holds significant communication value for vertical media outlets in both industries.

The Internet Is Increasingly Becoming a Key Marketing Arena for Pharmaceutical Companies

Across the pharmaceutical industry, the role of internet tools in marketing is increasingly prominent. Pharmaceutical companies are intensifying their marketing efforts on platforms such as Weibo and WeChat—including Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical, Sino-American SmithKline, and Biostime—with some even establishing proprietary e-commerce channels to fully launch their internet strategies. Zhongsheng Pharmaceutical’s collaboration with a game developer to leverage ChinaJoy for cross-industry marketing represents another innovation in pharmaceutical marketing approaches. Such innovations are likely to become the dominant trend in future pharmaceutical marketing.