iQIYI, Inc. (IQ): Marketing Mix Analysis [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking at one of Asia's biggest streaming players, iQIYI, Inc. (IQ), and wondering where the growth story is heading as we close out 2025. Honestly, their four P's show a company fighting to defend its domestic leadership while aggressively expanding globally-we're seeing over 80% annual growth in markets like Mexico and Brazil. This push comes as their Q3 2025 revenue settled at US$938.7 million, an 8% dip year-over-year, which puts real pressure on their Price and Promotion levers. Their Product strategy, which now heavily features integrated long and short-form content alongside serious AI investment, is the engine meant to drive that core membership revenue, which still clocked in at US$591.7 million last quarter. Let's dive into exactly how their Product, Place, Promotion, and Price are structured right now; you'll want to see the specifics on their new VIP tiers and content slate announcements below.

iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) - Marketing Mix: Product

You're looking at the core offering of iQIYI, Inc. (IQ), which is its content ecosystem, and how that content is packaged and delivered to the user base as of late 2025. The product strategy centers on an integrated approach to storytelling formats and deep IP exploitation.

The integrated content strategy officially kicked off its two-year transformation cycle in 2025, focusing on combining scale with quality through an approach iQIYI calls 'long + short' storytelling. The announced slate for 2025-2026 includes over 400 new titles across dramas, mini-dramas, short-dramas, variety shows, films, and animation. iQIYI has maintained its top position in total viewership market share for the 15th consecutive quarter, showing the stickiness of this diverse slate. Content Cost for the third quarter of 2025 reached RMB 4 billion, marking a 7% sequential increase, reflecting the investment in this premium lineup.

The long-form strategy is anchored by five signature drama brands, or 'Theaters,' each dedicated to a specific genre or style of serialized drama:

• Laugh On Theater (Comedy)
• Light On Theater (Crime thrillers, including titles like A Life For A Life)
• Love On Theater (Romance)
• Masterpiece Theater (Literary adaptations)
• Microcosm Theater (Cinematic experimentation with fewer episodes)

The success of this content drives the Membership Services Revenue, which hit RMB 4.2 billion in Q3 2025, a 3% sequential increase, largely supported by original blockbusters like the theatrical hit Nezha 2. Content Distribution Revenue also saw a significant jump, reaching RMB 644.5 million, up 48% sequentially, driven by strong distribution for an invested theatrical movie and drama transactions.

iQIYI, Inc. is aggressively expanding IP monetization beyond the screen, turning intellectual property into tangible revenue streams. The company is leveraging China's fast-growing IP derivatives market, projected to reach RMB 202.5 billion ($28.5 billion) in 2025. The Experience Business, centered on IP-based consumer products, saw its revenue more than double year-over-year. Specifically, self-operated collectible trading cards generated over RMB 100 million ($14.1 million) in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in the first half of 2025. Offline attractions are also a focus; iQIYI currently runs over 50 immersive theaters across about 30 cities, with two 'iQIYI Land' theme parks under construction in Yangzhou and Kaifeng.

The platform is integrating core technology, particularly Artificial Intelligence, across the product lifecycle. iQIYI launched a global AI short film competition with Google and ByteDance and partnered with cinematographer Peter Pau to pioneer an AI Theater. User-facing applications include 'iQuickReel' for automatic short video generation, aimed at enhancing user experience and production efficiency. The company is also advancing its content-driven e-commerce platform, integrating IP, livestreaming, and short-form videos.

The product is segmented into a clear, tiered membership structure to meet diverse user needs. iQIYI, Inc. offers five membership products across three main levels:

The premium tiers offer differentiated value; eXave MAX high-definition streaming, available for Platinum VIP and Diamond VIP members, expanded to over 23,000 episodes. To enhance flexibility, Golden VIP members can add an extra account for RMB 8 ($1.1) per month. The international product is also scaling, with overseas membership revenue increasing by over 40% annually in Q3 2025, with markets like Brazil, Mexico, and Indonesia seeing membership revenue more than double year-over-year.

iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) - Marketing Mix: Place

Place, or distribution, for iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) centers on making its extensive content library available across its primary and rapidly expanding international territories through optimized digital channels and strategic alliances. This is a purely digital distribution model, meaning the focus is on app presence, device compatibility, and partnership reach.

Domestic Market Dominance and Distribution Channels

iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) maintains its stronghold in the core Mainland China market. As of the third quarter of 2025, its long-form dramas secured the top viewership market share domestically, according to Enlightent data. Furthermore, iQIYI, Inc. (IQ)'s online movies remained in the market's top position for a 15th consecutive quarter. The primary distribution mechanism within China is the main iQIYI application. For specific content formats, like mini-dramas, the company utilizes a dual-app approach, distributing through the main platform and the ad-supported iQIYI Lite app. This dual-app strategy helps segment the audience and optimize monetization for different content consumption patterns.

The accessibility of the platform is comprehensive across the digital ecosystem. You can access iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) content across all major personal devices, ensuring wide availability where and when users want to watch.

• Accessible across mobile, PC, tablet, and smart TV platforms.
• Upgrading of both main and lite app versions to enhance user engagement.

Global Footprint and Overseas Growth Strategy

The international distribution strategy is a key growth engine, showing significant acceleration in late 2025. Overseas membership revenue surged over 40 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025. Specific emerging markets are outperforming this average significantly. For instance, in Q2 2025, markets including Brazil and Indonesia were reported to be exceeding 80 percent year-over-year growth in overseas membership revenue. By Q3 2025, membership in markets like Brazil, Mexico, and Indonesia was reported to have more than doubled.

This global expansion is not just about organic app downloads; it relies heavily on strategic distribution partnerships to embed the service within local digital infrastructures.

These partnerships with telecom operators and local OTT platforms are critical for reducing friction in user acquisition and payment processing outside of the core Chinese ecosystem. For example, the collaboration with Telkomsel in Indonesia is designed to accelerate content availability and offer advertisers new engagement avenues. Also, the company is actively working to optimize the playback experience for various network environments, which is a key distribution consideration in emerging markets.

iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) - Marketing Mix: Promotion

Promotion for iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) in late 2025 centered on showcasing the commercial success of premium original content, aggressively marketing its expanded content ecosystem, and highlighting technological advancements in advertising monetization.

Leveraging original blockbuster dramas like This Thriving Land to drive sequential membership growth.

The success of tentpole content directly translated into membership revenue uplift. For instance, the original drama This Thriving Land became a major hit, exceeding the 10,000 mark on iQIYI popularity index score and topping the year's Enlightent data chart for peak daily market share. This content strength supported sequential membership growth; in the third quarter of 2025, membership services revenue reached RMB 4.2 billion, marking a 3% sequential increase, largely attributed to this blockbuster drama and the theatrical megahit Nezha 2 during the summer season. To be fair, membership services revenue in Q2 2025 was RMB 4.1 billion, showing a 9% year-over-year decline due to macroeconomic pressures, but the content push in Q3 reversed the trend. The international segment also saw significant promotion success, with overseas membership revenue surging over 40% year-over-year in Q3 2025.

Unveiling a slate of over 400 new titles at the 2025 iQIYI World Conference to generate buzz.

iQIYI, Inc. used its 2025 World Conference events to signal content volume and strategic direction. At the September 2025 iJOY Conference, the company unveiled a slate of over 400 titles planned for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026, reinforcing its integrated 'long + short' content strategy. This push is designed to capture fragmented attention. The short-form segment is a major focus; the micro-drama library has grown to over 20,000 titles. This format is driving significant engagement, as evidenced by Q1 2025 data showing daily time spent on micro-dramas surging by 300% and daily unique users rising by 110% compared to December 2024.

The promotional impact of the content strategy can be summarized as follows:

Joint promotional campaigns for bundled services, like the 'Combo Asia' membership in Indonesia.

iQIYI, Inc. International promoted localized value through partnerships. The 'Combo Asia' joint membership, launched with Vision+ in Indonesia, combines iQIYI VIP Standard with Vision+ Premium Sports. The standard package price is set at Rp65,000 per month (excluding VAT). For customers of Telkomsel, a promotional price of Rp62,613 per month (excluding VAT) was offered, which included a 2GB bonus quota. Furthermore, promotions through Tokopedia and GoPay during the November 26 to December 26, 2025 window included a Rp20,000 cashback or an additional 5% discount.

Targeting major seasonal advertising opportunities like the Double 11 shopping festival and New Year.

Management explicitly noted plans to capitalize on major advertising opportunities like the Double 11 shopping festival, Christmas, and New Year campaigns. The Double 11 2025 festival itself was a prolonged event, with some platform cycles running for up to 37 days, requiring sustained promotional efforts. This focus on premium content and seasonal pushes helped drive brand advertising revenue in Q3 2025 to see double-digit year-over-year growth, with over 60% of that revenue coming from content-related ad solutions.

Utilizing AI-driven ad solutions to enhance monetization from premium content.

Technological promotion of ad products is key to monetization efficiency. The integration of AI into ad placement, such as the AI-driven Qiju ad placement platform, has shown tangible results. Early results indicated that AI incorporation boosted the Return on Investment (ROI) for some advertising content by over 20%. In Q2 2025 specifically, AI-powered features contributed to a 20% higher click-through rate for AI-driven ads when compared to traditional ads.

The online advertising revenue for Q3 2025 was RMB 1.2 billion, a 2% sequential decrease, but the growth in content-related solutions shows the effectiveness of these AI-enhanced promotional tools in a tighter ad market.

iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) - Marketing Mix: Price

You're looking at the pricing strategy for iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) as of late 2025, which is heavily anchored in its subscription model, though revenue performance shows some headwinds. The pricing element here is all about balancing the perceived value of premium content against market accessibility, especially in a competitive streaming landscape.

Financially, the top-line performance in the third quarter of 2025 gives us a starting point for understanding the pricing power and market reception. Total revenues for iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) in Q3 2025 were reported as RMB6.68 billion, which translates to US$938.7 million, marking an 8% year-over-year decline. This decline was attributed, in part, to a lighter content slate affecting membership services revenue.

The core revenue driver, membership services, brought in RMB4.21 billion (or US$591.7 million) for Q3 2025. Advertising revenue, while secondary, contributed RMB1.24 billion (or US$174.3 million). The company is clearly positioning its VIP tiers as the primary revenue engine, so pricing adjustments here are critical.

iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) has definitely been testing the limits of its pricing elasticity, particularly in international markets and for new domestic users. You saw price hikes implemented for new monthly and quarterly Standard VIP and Premium VIP subscribers in some markets, effective around March 2025. This move suggests a strategy to capture higher immediate value from new entrants while retaining existing subscribers at legacy rates to minimize churn risk.

Here's a look at some of the specific pricing actions and tiers we have data on:

• Implemented price increases for new monthly and quarterly Standard/Premium VIP subscribers in markets like Malaysia starting March 21, 2025.
• The annual subscription prices for Standard VIP and Premium VIP in that market remained unchanged following the March 2025 hike.
• The company maintains a lower-priced, ad-supported Basic VIP membership option, which, based on some reports, was priced at 15 yuan/month but did not include the privilege to skip pre-roll or mid-roll advertisements.
• In mainland China, a Standard VIP Family and Friends membership allows the main account holder to add an extra account.

The family plan structure provides a concrete example of tiered pricing designed for market penetration and value bundling. Here is the breakdown for that specific offering in the mainland China market:

Furthermore, the price adjustments in Malaysia in early 2025 show the granular nature of this strategy. For new subscribers in that region, the changes were:

The strategy to keep annual prices unchanged during the March 2025 hike suggests a clear financial incentive to lock in longer-term commitments, which stabilizes future recurring revenue streams. Also, the existence of the Basic VIP tier, even with its ad limitations, shows a commitment to price-sensitive users in smaller markets, aiming to keep them within the ecosystem, even if they are not yet paying for the full premium experience.

For context on the premium tiers, the Standard VIP plan generally offers HD quality and two-device streaming, while Premium VIP includes 4K content and Dolby Atmos/Vision, justifying a higher price point for the most quality-conscious viewers.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.