China Mobile announces agency line-up

Ogilvy Advertising Beijing secured the youth-focused M-Zone account, and local agency Jiu Yi Advertising scooped the TD-SCDMA (the Chinese technology for 3G mobile).

The appointments follow a competitive pitch. Previously the creative work for China Mobile’s corporate brand and 3G service was handled by Grey, while GoTone and M-Zone were serviced by Ogilvy & Mather, and Easy Own by Lintas.

It is believed that the corporate image account will be repitched.

Commenting on retaining the M-Zone account, which BBDO and Jiu Yi Advertising also pitched for, Raymond Tao, EVP of Ogilvy Advertising Beijing, said: “This is our seventh consecutive year of serving the M-Zone account. Our strategy for the brand in the past six years has proven to be successful.”

M-Zone currently has around 100 million subscribers between the ages of 16 and 25. “It is an influential youth brand in China. Like Nike and Coca-Cola, it stands for their values and language,” Tao continued. “We need to make sure we integrate the brand communication with the product, and put more emphasis on the product level.”

Budgets for the accounts have not been disclosed

China Mobile is required to pitch every two years according to procurement regulations.

The media planning, internet and PR pitch results are expected to be released this week. Non-digital media planning and buying across all brands is currently aligned with Zenith Media, while HyLink is responsible for digital media duties.

Simon Xu, account director for China Mobile at Lintas Beijing, could not be reached at press time.