Bates HK canned as Coke changes strategic direction

<p>Just four months after winning the Coca-Cola summer promotion </p><p>account, Bates has been ditched by the soft drinks giant. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The shock move follows a new strategic direction by Coca-Cola to </p><p>re-align its Hong Kong business into two divisions - assigning two sole </p><p>agencies to handle the creative and strategic direction of its </p><p>carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks brands respectively. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Coca-Cola China country manager for Hong Kong and Macau Scott Price told </p><p>MEDIA the move was "economically driven", and had been prompted by "a </p><p>need to gather efficiencies in spend and investment". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We don't want our brands fighting each other in the stores and it was </p><p>difficult to maintain two or three agencies on all our brands (and) come </p><p>up with solid strategic portfolios," he added. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>After a tumultuous run earlier in the year for former agency of record </p><p>D'Arcy in the wake of a mass exodus of creative staffers on the </p><p>Coca-Cola account (MEDIA, March 3); the agency appears to have finally </p><p>lost out. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Nevertheless D'Arcy - which handled Coke, Bonaqua, Fanta and Nestea - </p><p>was invited to re-pitch for the carbonated soft drinks business </p><p>alongside fellow agencies of record McCann-Erickson and Leo Burnett. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Price cited McCann-Erickson Guangming's "mind-blowing creative" </p><p>bolstered by its "strategic ability and consumer insight" as the </p><p>decisive factors which clinched the deal. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, on the non-carbonated soft drinks side, both Bates and Grey </p><p>were invited to pitch, with Grey winning the business, which includes </p><p>brands Bonaqua, Nescafe, Sunfill and the Schweppes brand acquired by </p><p>Coca-Cola at the tail end of 1999. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Grey Hong Kong MD Andrew Lee said that the business had been won on the </p><p>basis of "client strategic points, good creative and a tight-knit team </p><p>spirit". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, in the midst of Coca-Cola's increasingly localised brand </p><p>strategy, Mr Price lamented the fact that the long-awaited launch of the </p><p>Coca-Cola Hong Kong website had been delayed until the first quarter of </p><p>2001. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"I've had some (website) ideas given to me and I think they're all </p><p>garbage, so I've pushed back the launch of a proper website that I think </p><p>is cool, teen-focused, interactive and has a proper balance of access </p><p>versus content," he added. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While Mr Price recognised that Bates had done "a great job on the summer </p><p>promotion" - including its work on the six-week Gig Fun tactical </p><p>promotional website (www.2000gigfun.com) with the agency's promotional </p><p>arm 141; Bates appears to have been vying for a longer term hold on </p><p>Coca-Cola's digital strategy. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"When we first pitched for this account for the summer promotion, our </p><p>view was not only for the short term but the long term as well," said </p><p>Bates Hong Kong business director Janet Shuen. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In the wake of D'Arcy's earlier proposal for the Hong Kong website </p><p>launch, Bates had also "proposed ideas but they (Coca-Cola) put the </p><p>project on hold", Ms Shuen said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>