V47 Entertainment’s specialist agency Virtue Asia has struck a deal with China-listed microdrama company COL Group to develop and distribute brand-funded entertainment across Southeast Asia, the companies announced on the sidelines of the APOS conference in Bali.

Under the partnership, Virtue Asia and COL will work together to package opportunities for regional marketers across microdrama, vertical video and mobile-first narrative entertainment. Formats on offer will include original brand-enabled microdrama series, sponsorship of existing vertical properties and bespoke creator-led activations. The collaboration will cover Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, with initial campaigns to be announced in the coming months.

COL Group is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s ChiNext board and positions itself as one of the originators of the microdrama format in China. Its global platform FlareFlow counts 33 million registered users across more than 200 countries and regions. According to a report from research firm Omdia, the five leading microdrama apps in Asia collectively reached 150 million monthly active users in February 2025.

“This partnership gives our clients direct access to one of the most exciting leaders in the category, backed by the regional brand and cultural expertise our team has been building for years,” said Lesley John, CEO of Virtue Asia. “It is a meaningful step forward for the brand-funded entertainment opportunity in South East Asia.”

Virtue Asia is the brand and culture division of V47 Entertainment, which launched in late 2025 as a joint venture between Virtue Asia and Goldfinch International. The new COL deal extends that mandate into the microdrama and vertical entertainment segment.

“V47 was created around a simple belief that brands will increasingly need to move beyond advertising and participate directly in entertainment ecosystems audiences actively choose,” said David Webster, chair of Vault47 Group and V47 Entertainment.

Timothy Oh, FlareFlow chief marketing officer and general manager of COL Group, said the ASEAN region is a strategic priority for the company. “We see this partnership as a powerful vehicle to drive our Vertical 2.0 strategy by bringing next-generation, premium brand-funded stories to audiences in the region in a way that respects both the creative craft and the massive commercial opportunity,” Oh said.