Zhixiangge

Zhixiangge, which translates to "Carton Brother," operates as an e-commerce parcel advertising company, carving a niche in China's competitive digital marketplace. Founded in November 2015 by Wang Jiaxing, along with co-founders Zhou Xingxing and Hang Ding, the company is officially known as Hangzhou Zhixiangge Culture Communication Co., Ltd. Wang Jiaxing, the CEO, has a background deeply rooted in e-commerce and supply chain management, having started a carton factory in 2010 and becoming a major online seller of packing materials. This experience provided him with firsthand insight into the pain points of e-commerce sellers, particularly the rising costs of packaging.

The core of Zhixiangge's business model is to transform the ubiquitous e-commerce delivery box into a targeted advertising medium. The company partners with advertisers who want to reach online shoppers and prints their promotional messages directly onto shipping cartons. These branded boxes are then provided to a vast network of e-commerce merchants, which reportedly includes over a million sellers on platforms like Taobao and Tmall. This strategy creates a symbiotic relationship: advertisers gain direct access to a captive audience at the moment of unboxing, a high-engagement point in the customer journey, while e-commerce sellers receive packaging materials at a reduced cost or even for free. By leveraging big data analytics, Zhixiangge can offer targeted advertising solutions, matching brands with relevant consumer demographics based on the products being shipped. For instance, a home appliance brand's ads could be printed on boxes sent by sellers of home goods, ensuring the message reaches consumers with a high purchase intent.

The company's revenue is generated from the fees paid by advertisers for these targeted campaigns. Zhixiangge has demonstrated its effectiveness through campaigns for major brands like China UnionPay, where a Chinese New Year-themed promotion on parcels reportedly attracted millions of online shoppers. It has successfully secured multiple rounds of funding to support its growth, including a Series A round in 2017, a Series A+ in 2018, and a strategic investment from the Yuhang Industry Fund in 2019. These funds have been earmarked for team expansion and strengthening its supply chain and resource integration capabilities.

Keywords: e-commerce advertising, in-package marketing, targeted advertising, supply chain solutions, packaging media, direct-to-consumer marketing, unboxing experience, parcel advertising, brand communication, retail media, Wang Jiaxing, Hangzhou, China e-commerce, Taobao advertising, Tmall merchants, customer acquisition, data-driven advertising, logistics marketing, packaging solutions, creative marketing