Essence bets on China

Essence is officially opening its doors in China with offices in Beijing and Shanghai in a bid to attract local clients.

The digital media agency has appointed Benjamin Wei to lead its China operations across the two offices.

Wei has been working at Essence’s parent GroupM for the last nine years, during which time he set up its first centralised mobile business unit and its digital media innovation and thought leadership hub mLab in Beijing. He was most recently managing director of mobile.

Essence made an initial investment in China in 2016 to support global clients interested in advertising inside the country. Since then it has worked closely with GroupM in the market, Wei told Campaign.

“The developments we are announcing today is intended to allow us to fully service local companies as well as global companies,” Wei said, adding that Essence’s expertise in data-driven approaches is “exactly what marketers here are looking for”.

“With the support of GroupM, we expect our business in China to become a vital part of our future global growth,” Matsushita added.

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