Every January, Malaysian feeds turn red and gold. Bakeries pack cookie tins on camera and creators taste-test bak kwa from five shops. Most of these videos look alike, and most get scrolled past in two seconds.
This guide is for SME owners and marketing executives planning a CNY TikTok campaign for 2027. You get 12 video ideas sorted by the job they do, a timeline, honest budget ranges, cultural notes and the numbers to track. At ZenWeb, a Google Partner agency with 500+ Malaysian clients, we plan festive TikTok, Meta and Google campaigns every season. For the all-channel plan, start with our Chinese New Year marketing guide for Malaysia; this post covers TikTok video only.
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If TikTok’s ad tools are new to you, this short walkthrough shows how business ads work before you plan your festive videos.
Source video: HubSpot Marketing on YouTube
Quick Answer: A CNY TikTok campaign competes in the most crowded, most colourful weeks of the Chinese-Malaysian calendar. Search ads catch people already looking; TikTok has to create the want. So each video must stop the scroll fast, show your product in a real festive moment and give one clear next step.
Our explainer on what short-form video is covers pacing and sound. If you’re weighing TikTok against Meta for festive spend, see what works with TikTok ads for Malaysian SMEs; overseas brands can read why TikTok often beats Instagram here.
Quick Answer: Start planning your CNY TikTok campaign in November 2026, film from late November to mid-December, test hooks before 31 December and scale paid spend from early January. The peak runs from about 18 January to 4 February 2027, ahead of Chinese New Year on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February.
Reunion dinner falls on Friday 5 February 2027. Monday 8 February is expected to be a replacement holiday in many states; check your state’s gazetted list. Ramadan is expected to begin around 8 February, subject to the official moon sighting, so CNY content shares the feed with Ramadan campaigns almost at once.
| When | What to do on TikTok |
|---|---|
| Early – mid November 2026 | Set the goal, book creators, pick your Year of the Goat angle |
| Late November – mid December | Film 6–10 videos in one or two shoot days; collect Spark Ads codes from creators |
| Mid – end December | Post organic teasers; test 2–3 hooks on a small paid budget |
| 1 – 17 January 2027 | Scale the winning hooks; gift guides and pre-order videos (schools reopen 4 January) |
| 18 January – 4 February | Peak: countdowns, last-order dates, retargeting viewers |
| 5 – 7 February | Greetings only; cut spend if you are closed |
| 8 – 20 February | Post-CNY and Chap Goh Mei (20 February) content, kept apart from Ramadan creatives |
Closing over the holiday? Our guide on pausing ads during CNY explains what to keep running. And because the two festivals sit two days apart, plan one ad budget across CNY and Ramadan 2027.
Quick Answer: The best CNY TikTok ideas show real preparation, real people and a real product. Sort them by job: “sell” videos (packing, gift guides, countdowns) drive orders now, “brand” videos (reunion stories, greetings) build warmth, and creator taste tests do both. Pick four or five that match your goal.
| Idea | What it looks like | Main job |
|---|---|---|
| 1. “Pack with me” | Fast cuts of baking or packing CNY orders, with slots left on screen | Sell |
| 2. Gift guide by budget | “CNY gifts under RM50, RM100 and RM200”, prices on screen | Sell |
| 3. Last-order countdown | Cut-off date on screen with a countdown sticker | Sell |
| 4. Ang pow packet reveal | Your custom ang pow design and how to get one | Sell |
| 5. House-ready makeover | Before-and-after of a home, car or shopfront ready for visitors | Sell |
| 6. Creator taste test | A creator compares your product honestly, run as a Spark Ad | Both |
| 7. Year of the Goat twist | A light zodiac theme on your product or team | Both |
| 8. Reunion mini-story | A 20–30 second family story with your product in a natural role | Brand |
| 9. Staff lou sang toss | Your team tossing yee sang with festive wishes | Brand |
| 10. Multi-language greeting | Staff wishes in Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, Malay, Tamil and English | Brand |
| 11. Open-house moments | Warm, light humour about visiting season, told from the brand’s side | Brand |
| 12. Back-to-work and Chap Goh Mei | Post-CNY leftovers, office return, the fifteenth day | Brand |
Opening lines that tend to stop the scroll:
For idea 7, see our Year of the Goat 2027 ad ideas; for idea 10, borrow phrases from our Mandarin CNY ad copy guide. If everything still looks red and gold, read how to stand out in a sea of red CNY ads.
Quick Answer: In ZenWeb-managed Malaysian TikTok campaigns, creator taste tests and behind-the-scenes packing videos hold viewers best, with estimated 6-second view rates around 32–45%. Polished, TV-style brand ads hold the fewest, often under 22%. Native, phone-shot content usually beats expensive production in a CNY TikTok campaign.
| Video format | 6-second view rate (est.) | Completion rate (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| Creator taste test | 38–45% | 14–18% |
| Behind-the-scenes packing | 32–40% | 12–16% |
| Reunion mini-story | 30–38% | 10–14% |
| Gift guide by budget | 28–35% | 11–15% |
| Staff greeting | 20–26% | 9–12% |
| Polished TV-style brand ad | 15–22% | 5–8% |
Source: Estimated ranges aggregated from ZenWeb-managed Malaysian SME TikTok campaigns, festive seasons 2024–2026. Results vary by product, audience and hook.
Content that looks like it belongs in the feed gets watched. Our post on why creator-style UGC ads beat polished ones explains why, so spend production money on more hooks, not one glossy film.
Quick Answer: Most Malaysian SMEs spend about RM3,000–RM8,000 on a CNY TikTok campaign, covering ads, simple production and one or two micro-creators (estimate). Expect CPMs to climb from about RM6–RM12 in early December to roughly RM11–RM24 in the last two weeks before CNY, so buy reach early.
| Window | Estimated CPM (RM) | Index (early Dec = 100) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 – 13 Dec 2026 | RM6–RM12 | 100 |
| 14 – 31 Dec 2026 | RM8–RM15 | 125 |
| 1 – 17 Jan 2027 | RM8–RM16 | 130 |
| 18 Jan – 4 Feb 2027 | RM11–RM24 | 175 |
| 5 – 7 Feb 2027 | RM7–RM14 | 110 |
| 8 – 21 Feb 2027 | RM9–RM20 | 150 |
Source: Estimated, aggregated from ZenWeb-managed Malaysian retail and F&B TikTok campaigns, CNY seasons 2024–2026. 2027 figures are projections, not quotes.
More festive advertisers push late-January costs up, and in 2027 Ramadan advertisers start early too. For other channels, compare our CNY 2027 Google Ads CPC and budget guide and our rundown of TikTok marketing prices in Malaysia.
Quick Answer: A starter budget of about RM1,500–RM3,000 covers four to six self-shot videos and modest ads. A growth budget of RM3,000–RM8,000 adds micro-creators and steady paid reach. Above RM8,000, brands can add several creators, Spark Ads at scale and LIVE selling. All figures are estimates before SST.
| Tier | Total budget (est.) | Videos | Paid media (est.) | Impressions (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | RM1,500–RM3,000 | 4–6 self-shot | RM1,000–RM2,200 over 4–5 weeks | About 100,000–250,000 |
| Growth | RM3,000–RM8,000 | 6–10, including 1–2 micro-creators | RM2,000–RM5,500 | About 200,000–500,000 |
| Scale | RM8,000–RM20,000+ | 10–15, with 3–5 creators and LIVE sessions | RM5,000–RM13,000 | About 400,000–1,100,000 |
Source: Illustrative ZenWeb planning scenario, not a client result. Impressions assume an average CPM of RM10–RM14; production and creator fees vary widely.
Creator fees are the biggest swing factor in any CNY TikTok campaign. Our KOL marketing guide covers choosing creators who sell, not just ones with big follower counts.
Quick Answer: As a starting point, put about 55–70% of a CNY TikTok budget into paid media, up to 30% into creators and 15–30% into production. Smaller budgets lean on ads and self-shot video; bigger ones shift money to creators, whose posts you can then boost as Spark Ads.
| Tier | Split | Paid media | Creators | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 70% | 0–10% | 20–30% | |
| Growth | 60% | 25% | 15% | |
| Scale | 55% | 30% | 15% |
Source: Illustrative ZenWeb planning split, not a client result. Navy = paid media, green = creators, grey = production.
Not sure how to split your CNY budget?
We’ll map videos, creators and ad spend into one plan before December. Plan your CNY digital campaign with ZenWeb →
Quick Answer: Show the Malaysian CNY your viewers actually live: open houses, lou sang, mandarin oranges, balik kampung traffic and mixed-language families. Laugh with your audience, never at a community. Label non-halal food, keep gambling scenes out of ads, and separate CNY food content from Ramadan creatives once fasting begins.
Quick Answer: Give every CNY TikTok video one clear destination: a pre-order page, a TikTok Shop listing, a LIVE session or a WhatsApp chat for bulk orders. Install the TikTok pixel before ads start, so you can retarget viewers in late January when buyers are ready to commit.
Many viewers buy later by searching your brand on Google. That’s why a CNY TikTok campaign works best inside a joined-up digital marketing plan, not as a TikTok-only push.
Quick Answer: Judge your CNY TikTok campaign in three layers: attention (6-second view rate, watch time), interest (clicks, saves, shares) and sales (orders, leads, cost per result). Compare against your own December baseline, not viral videos, and track brand searches on Google through January.
| Metric | What it tells you | Rough healthy sign (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| 6-second view rate | Is the hook working? | 25% or higher |
| Average watch time | Does the story hold? | Over a third of the video |
| Click-through rate | Is the offer clear? | 0.6–1.5% |
| Cost per order or lead | Is it paying back? | Below your CNY margin per order |
| Brand searches on Google | Is TikTok driving later demand? | Higher than last January |
These are rough ZenWeb benchmarks, not platform rules. Record your results by 20 February; they become next year’s targets. The habit pays off in other seasons too, from Merdeka campaigns to year-end Christmas campaigns.
Quick Answer: Tick these off before your first paid CNY video goes live in December 2026.
A strong CNY TikTok campaign for 2027 is built in November and December, not in the last week of January. Pick four or five ideas, film in batches, test hooks before the new year and scale the winners in January. Expect CPMs to rise near the festival, give every video a clear destination, respect the Ramadan overlap and measure against your own baseline. If you want TikTok joined up with Google, Meta and your website, our digital marketing team can build the plan with you.
Plan in November 2026, film by mid-December, test hooks before 31 December and scale from early January. The peak runs from about 18 January to 4 February, ahead of Chinese New Year on 6–7 February 2027.
Most SMEs spend about RM3,000–RM8,000, covering ads, simple production and one or two micro-creators. A starter campaign can run on RM1,500–RM3,000. These are estimates; creator fees and CPMs vary.
Creator taste tests, behind-the-scenes packing, gift guides and short reunion stories usually hold viewers best. Phone-shot videos with a strong first three seconds tend to beat polished ads.
Ramadan is expected to begin around 8 February 2027, two days after CNY, subject to moon sighting. Keep CNY food content targeted to people celebrating CNY, and prepare separate Ramadan creatives for wider audiences.
Make your CNY 2027 videos sell, not just trend
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