Eastward Media

What Eastward Media does

Eastward Media is a privately held Canadian digital marketing and ad-tech agency founded in 2015, headquartered in Vancouver with a regional office in Toronto. The firm serves Western brands and media agencies that want to reach Chinese-audience consumers in North America (US and Canada) and, increasingly, in mainland China, focusing on platforms and inventory that are inaccessible through standard Western DSPs and ad exchanges. Its positioning is that it is the only Chinese digital marketing agency offering a comprehensive programmatic solution to access premium walled-garden Chinese publisher inventory in North America.

Name

Eastward Media

Legal name

Eastward Media

Website

https://eastwardmedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Eastward Media is a Canadian digital marketing agency founded in 2015 that helps Western brands and media agencies reach Chinese consumers in North America and China through managed programmatic advertising on Chinese walled-garden inventory and social media marketing across WeChat, Weibo, and Rednote.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Multicultural Digital Marketing Services

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (54183), Media Representatives (54184), Media Buying Agencies (541830)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Media Planning, Buying & Optimization (BPAFAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Broadcast Media Buying (TV & Radio) (BPAFABAA), Marketing Localization (Campaign, Web, App, Social) (MPAAANAB)

Keywords

• Chinese digital marketing
• Programmatic advertising
• Multicultural marketing services
• Chinese audience targeting
• Social media marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Programmatic Advertising Services: Managed programmatic advertising solution helping advertisers target Chinese consumers across their favorite Chinese websites, mobile apps, and video streaming platforms. Revenue generated through managed service fees and media buying markups.
2. Social Media Marketing Services: Comprehensive Chinese social media marketing services including WeChat, Weibo, and Rednote account creation, verification, content management, and KOL/influencer collaborations.
3. Content & Creative Services: Professional content creation for Chinese social media including translation, creative writing, layout design, and advertorial production.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Eastward Media is a Canadian digital marketing and ad-tech agency that sells managed programmatic advertising access to premium walled garden Chinese publisher inventories (Tencent, iQIYI, Youku, etc.) for advertisers targeting Chinese consumers in North America. It complements this with Chinese social media marketing services on WeChat, Weibo, and Rednote (Xiaohongshu), plus content creation and translation services to execute end-to-end Chinese digital marketing campaigns.

Product overview

Eastward Media is a Canadian digital marketing and ad-tech agency (founded in 2015) offering a managed programmatic advertising platform combined with social media marketing services to help Western brands reach Chinese audiences in North America and China. The core offering consists of Programmatic Display Advertising with access to premium walled garden inventories from Chinese publishers, supplemented by Programmatic Video Pre-Roll on major Chinese streaming platforms. The Social Media Marketing division provides services across WeChat, Weibo, and Rednote (Xiaohongshu) platforms, including account verification, content management, KOL/KOC collaborations, and paid advertising. Additional services include creative production with translation and localization support, and strategic consulting for Chinese digital marketing campaigns.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Programmatic Display Advertising Managed programmatic buying solution that targets Chinese consumers in North America through premium walled garden inventories from Chinese publishers (Tencent, iQIYI, Youku, Tudou, Sohu, QQ, Caijing) across display, native, and video ad formats, accessing private marketplace inventories not available on open auction.
• Programmatic Video Pre-Roll Force-view non-skippable pre-roll video advertising on major Chinese streaming platforms (YouKu, iQIYI, TuDou), available in 15-second or 30-second formats, with guaranteed impression delivery for advertisers targeting Chinese audiences.
• Social Media Marketing End-to-end Chinese social media marketing service covering content strategy, account management, and advertising campaigns across WeChat, Weibo, and Rednote platforms for brands targeting Chinese consumers.
• WeChat Marketing Official WeChat account creation, verification, content management, KOL collaborations, and WeChat advertising services for brands targeting Chinese consumers.
• Weibo Marketing Official Weibo account verification and registration, content planning, sponsored post campaigns, KOL collaborations, and paid advertising services for brands on the Weibo platform.
• Rednote (Xiaohongshu) Marketing Official Rednote (Xiaohongshu) account verification and registration, plus KOL and KOC collaborations for brands targeting Chinese consumers on this lifestyle and fashion platform.
• Creative Services Content creation, translation, subtitle production, voice-over support, and culturally adapted marketing materials for Chinese-audience digital campaigns.

Quantifiable outcome

• Less than 1% agency trade desk overlap
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BaiducoreTechnology or IntegrationData partnership for first-party audience data. Baidu DMP data ingested into Eastward Media's DSP for targeting Chinese consumers by interests, affinity groups, and shopping motivations.
• Alibaba (Alimama)coreTechnology or IntegrationData partnership providing audience targeting data from Alibaba's ecosystem for programmatic advertising campaigns targeting Chinese consumers.
• TencentcoreTechnology or IntegrationData partnership for first-party audience data. Eastward Media accesses Tencent data for targeting and also has access to Tencent's publisher inventory.
• Oracle GrapeshotcoreTechnology or IntegrationBrand safety and verification technology partner for filtering bot traffic and ensuring brand-safe ad placements.
• Peer39coreTechnology or IntegrationAd verification partner for anti-fraud protection and brand safety verification across campaigns.
• AdBugTechcoreTechnology or IntegrationAnti-fraud technology partner for filtering fraudulent clicks and ensuring campaign integrity.
• DoubleClick (Google)coreTechnology or IntegrationCampaign measurement integration with DoubleClick Campaign Manager for real-time performance tracking and Floodlight Activities for on-site conversion tracking.
• Chinese Publishers NetworkcoreTechnology or IntegrationNetwork of premium Chinese publishers including Tencent, iQIYI, Youku, Tudou, Sohu, QQ, and Caijing providing display, native, and video ad inventory for targeting Chinese audiences.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Admerasia: Admerasia is a US-based multicultural marketing agency focused on Asian American consumers, including Chinese diaspora, with services spanning digital, social, and content. It is directly comparable as it targets the same North American Chinese consumer segment with managed advertising solutions.
• ddm marketing & communications: ddm is a multicultural marketing agency specializing in connecting brands with diverse North American audiences, including Chinese, South Asian, and Hispanic consumers. Comparable in offering managed digital campaigns and cultural expertise to Eastward Media's multicultural agency model.
• Intertrend Communications: Intertrend is a long-standing multicultural agency specializing in Asian American marketing, including Chinese consumer targeting in North America. Directly comparable as an agency helping brands reach Chinese diaspora through culturally adapted digital and media campaigns (note: Intertrend is also listed as an Eastward Media partner agency client).

Emerging players

• China Trading Desk: China Trading Desk operates as a programmatic buying platform specializing in connecting Western advertisers with Chinese digital audiences. Comparable to Eastward Media as a programmatic intermediary focused on cross-border Chinese consumer reach, though with different geographic focus.

Broad incumbents

• Omnicom Media Group (OMG/OMD): OMG and its OMD agency are major global media planning and buying holding companies and a current Eastward Media partner. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering media planning and buying services across multicultural audiences, with Eastward Media operating as a specialized downstream partner.
• GroupM (WPP): GroupM is WPP's media investment group encompassing Mindshare, MediaCom, Wavemaker, and Essence, and is one of Eastward Media's listed agency partners. Comparable as a broad incumbent with multicultural capabilities and large advertiser relationships that Eastward Media services as a niche specialist.
• Dentsu International: Dentsu is a global advertising holding company with extensive Asia-Pacific and multicultural capabilities, and is listed as an Eastward Media partner agency. Comparable as a broad incumbent operating across multiple Asian markets and audience segments, with Eastward Media providing specialized Chinese diaspora execution.
• Publicis Media: Publicis Media is the media investment arm of Publicis Groupe, encompassing Starcom, Zenith, and Spark Foundry. Comparable as a broad incumbent with multicultural marketing capabilities and global agency relationships similar to Eastward Media's other holding-company partners.
• IPG Mediabrands: IPG Mediabrands is the media investment division of IPG, including UM, Initiative, and MAGNA. Comparable broad incumbent operating media planning and buying across multicultural audiences, with multicultural agency iProspect also listed as an Eastward Media partner.

Others

• Alibaba Alimama: Alimama is Alibaba's advertising platform and one of the data sources Eastward Media integrates with. Comparable as an upstream data and inventory provider whose policies, pricing, and access terms directly affect Eastward Media's product economics and competitive positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eastwardmedia
• Xx.com/eastwardmedia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Eastward Media