Women to Watch Greater China 2022: Ida Li, Saatchi & Saatchi

Ida Li

Head of planning, PG ONE
Saatchi & Saatchi
Shanghai

Ida Li has proven herself an exceptional planner and leader with her unique brand of hardcore loyalty and natural ability to manage with heart. Joining Saatchi in 2009, Li dedicated the past 12 years to working on P&G brands, and she rose through the ranks from strategic planner to today heading up Saatchi's planning team for Shanghai and Guangzhou. 

A hardcore attitude and drive is what sets Li apart. Her guiding principle of  always ‘doing what’s right for the brand’ makes her insist on not taking any shortcuts, even when facing opposition. This same conviction has helped her resist the lure of short-lived temptations in marketing to persist in long-term brand building as the best guarantee for the sustainability of a brand (and business). 

Her persistence and tenacity has paid off. The campaign Li is famous for, Olay's ‘Fearless of Age’ brand campaign, only achieved success after seven years of countless attempts to launch through many generations of local and global client changes. Li empathised with Chinese women’s anxiety around ageing, and found a way for Olay to help them tackle this issue. Her work successfully helped Olay reconnect with younger consumers, reversing 10 years of revenue decline.

Similarly, with Safeguard's ‘Wash your hands and eat’ Spring Festival campaign, Li helped Safeguard stand out from a clutter of festive campaigns for five consecutive years, the last of which garnered 970 million views and 6.31 million comments, winning silver at the 13th ROI Awards Festival (2020).

As a leader, Li truly excels in her generosity as someone who is always prepared to share knowledge and techniques and takes great pleasure in growing the teams around her. For many years, she has cultivated high-quality planners, helped the business leads to achieve revenue targets, and inspired the creative departments to conceive breakthrough ideas.  

A versatile planner, with persistence, loyalty and drive, Li has been instrumental in helping PG One in nurturing long-term business partnerships with P&G and other well-established brands. Her well-considered persistence, razor-sharp insights and brand-building expertise has helped her garner widespread recognition. And as a leader, Li encourages people around her in practical ways, even when she is facing challenges herself. It's this genuine empathy that makes her a leader who is truly valued by her team members.