Bravo wins Arche China work

Headed by former DDB Asia chairman Aaron Lau, Bravo has opened an office in Shanghai with Arche as its anchor client, and Kenneth Yip, who was until recently DDB China national creative head, in the driver's seat. The consolidation with Bravo follows last year's appointment of former Procter & Gamble and Colgate marketer Sharong Zhou to head Arche's sales and marketing department and take its brands upstream beyond its low-end focus, said Lau. "Arche previously had as many as eight agencies work- ing on the different brands. The work wasn't bad, but it was sporadic in its approach," said Lau. "With the company looking to move upstream in the footsteps of Mininurse, Sharong decided to take a more disciplined approach and to look for expertise beyond China." Nielsen pegged Arche's spend for all brands at Rmb 1.9 billion (US$232 million) last year, down 28 per cent over 2004. Arche will keep media duties inhouse. Lau said Bravo would break three spots nationally after the May 1 Golden Week holidays for the group's skincare label Cathy, Effi, one of China's oldest foundation brands, and the Arche hair mousse brand.