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Chinese drama fans have more ways to follow an actor than watching the next episode. Behind-the-scenes footage, personal interests and exclusive digital keepsakes can make a familiar face part of everyday routines. For Zhang Linghe’s audience, Taobao is making those extras part of its annual shopping festival.
Taobao has recruited the Chinese actor for its 2026 Double 11 campaign, turning routine app visits into chances to unlock Zhang-themed rewards. The campaign connects a global brand film with a month-long treasure hunt in five Asian markets.
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How the Zhang Linghe treasure hunt works
The treasure hunt runs from October 14 to November 13 in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. App users can complete tasks such as checking in, browsing products, making purchases or inviting friends to earn opportunities for rewards and accumulate what Taobao calls Ling points.
Those points can be exchanged for Taobao vouchers and Zhang-themed merchandise, as well as digital items such as phone wallpapers, stickers, app skins and voice messages. Repeated participation unlocks eight behind-the-scenes videos featuring the actor. Higher-ranking participants may also qualify for autographed gifts and other limited-edition prizes.
The campaign is not simply a celebrity appearing in an advertisement. It gives fans reasons to return to the app on successive days, while leaving ordinary shoppers with discounts and other rewards. Taobao has also announced an exclusive in-app livestream with Zhang during the Double 11 period.
Why Taobao is turning a shopping sale into fandom content
Zhang’s popularity is linked to the international appetite for Chinese-language dramas. The Straits Times reported that his 2026 series Pursuit of Jade reached Netflix’s global weekly top ten for non-English shows, making him a recognizable face beyond mainland China.
Taobao uses that familiarity to give its shopping platform a personality. A fan who wants to unlock another video may open the app for a reason unrelated to a planned purchase. Whether that interest ultimately produces more transactions remains unproven: Taobao has not disclosed campaign conversion or sales results.
The creative also reflects the way fandom often extends beyond a performer’s core work. Exclusive footage and collectible items can be meaningful in their own right. Here, those interests are deliberately linked to product discovery, with Zhang’s tastes used as a bridge to different shopping categories.
How the Double 11 campaign extends beyond the app
The brand film, which premiered October 14, follows Zhang through fashion, sports gear, pet products, anime collectibles and smart technology. Its transitions were filmed using a motion-control robotic camera arm, intended to evoke the fluid experience of browsing different parts of the app.
The campaign is also moving into physical spaces. Taobao outlined billboards, themed trains and glasses-free 3D displays in Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Zhang-themed events were scheduled for Hong Kong on October 15 and Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur on October 24, with local details to follow on the brand’s social accounts.
That combination matters because the promotion asks people to do different things in different places: notice the actor on a city street, watch the film on a social platform, and then open the app to participate. The mechanics connect attention with a concrete activity without requiring every encounter to become a purchase immediately.
What marketers can learn from Taobao and Zhang Linghe
The interesting question is not whether celebrity endorsements work in general. It is how a familiar entertainer can give a shopping festival a series of smaller moments worth returning for.
Give fandom a role beyond the poster. Taobao makes Zhang part of the experience through exclusive clips, digital collectibles and a livestream, rather than relying solely on his image in paid advertising.
Make participation useful to more than one audience. Fans may value Zhang-themed rewards, while other shoppers can participate for vouchers and product discovery.
Connect the physical and digital experience. Outdoor advertising introduces the campaign across cities, while the app provides the repeatable activity.
Separate engagement design from demonstrated results. Daily tasks may encourage return visits, but the public announcement does not establish that they have increased sales or retention.
For marketers, the larger signal is that a shopping event can be presented as an ongoing entertainment experience rather than a single day of price cuts. Taobao is using an actor’s cultural relevance to invite exploration, then giving people multiple reasons to keep coming back. Its business impact has not yet been made public.
This article is produced by ContentGrow. We’re building branded media outlets for B2B companies. Interested in learning more? Learn more.
