Groupon calls digital agency pitch in China

The pitch, involving a number of 4A digital agencies, is said to have already taken place. An agency source close to the pitch said the client is close appointing an agency.

Groupon is entering Mainland China through a joint venture with the country's largest internet service portal Tencent. Reported in January, the social buying site launched an aggresive recruitment drive to hire 1,000 employees in China by March, insisting it will beat the many Chinese clones that are already up and running in the country.

Sina, one of China's largest portal sites, launched its own Groupon clone, Sina Tuan, in July last year, joining what internet observers already call "the craziest webplay in history."

QQ followed shortly with its own version of Groupon called Tuan.qq.com. Headquartered in the city of Shenzhen in South China, it is planning to expand to 17 other cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing.

Groupon made international news headlines across the world in early Febuary followings its controversial Superbowl ad referring to the ongoing political repression in Tibet to promote its site. The ad marked the first time the social-buying company advertised during the Superbowl final, watched by an estimated 100 million people.

Seperately, Groupon appointed Starbucks' global chief executive Howard Schultz to the company's board of directors earlier this month. This followed on the heels of an announcement earlier this year that it successfully raised US$950 million in financing as it prepares to expand globally.