Micro-movies offer new platform for profits

"All of our services come as a whole package, and we do not sell them separately, because we believe they're not only indispensable in terms of our corporate development strategies but also necessary for helping establish positive industry rules and codes," He explained.

Most of Linksus OpTIPoint's corporate clients are return customers, and some have significantly upped their investment, he said.

Take one of its most important clients - Red Star Macalline, a leading furniture retailer. Red Star invested 5 million yuan in its first micro-movie, but the figure for the second one grew by more than 50 percent, He said.

The furniture seller made the decision because it found the product worthwhile, he said. In the month after its first micro-movie was released, its hits on domestic online video websites reached 60 million, and it has been shared 13 million times on micro-blogging platforms.

To get the same result using traditional marketing would cost 100 million yuan, He said.

While social-networking sites and mobile applications have spurred micro-movies' rise, Linksus OpTIPoint is casting its net even wider.

Company revenue went from 10 million yuan in 2012 to 30 million yuan as of September this year, with new clients constituting almost half of that growth, said He.

It has a client list of more than a dozen companies, including domestic auto brand Landwind, pharmaceutical enterprise Yunnan Baiyao Group Co Ltd and Japanese electronics firm Toshiba Corp.

Beyond developing more clients, the micro-movie company has even more ambitious plans up its sleeve.

"We hope that in the future, wherever there are mobile screens, you will see our micro-movies," said He.

More exposure

Presently, its micro-movies can be viewed on screens in subways and buses in 22 major metropolitan areas, like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Air passengers can view the micro-movies on China Southern Airlines Co Ltd and Hainan Airlines Co Ltd flights.

He said the company is looking to expand onto trains.

"Negotiations with related railway authorities are still under way," he said. "But we look forward to getting good news."

Screens in subways and on buses are ideal platforms for showing micro-movies.