BEIJING: China's leading computer manufacturer Legend has added Leo
Burnett to its agency roster alongside fellow Bcom3 partner Dentsu.
No pitch was involved. Burnett joined the roster following a credentials
briefing, which included a presentation of a major piece of research the
agency had conducted in China earlier this year.
Benjamin Tsang, Burnett's managing director for Beijing, said the
initial assignment centred on creative development for Legend's portal,
fm365.com.
No billings were disclosed for the assignment.
The portal was belatedly launched last year in China's crowded and
money-losing internet sector, which is now dominated by early birds like
Sina.com and Sohu.com.
But fm365.com's trump card is Legend's partnership with AOL Time Warner
in a US$200 million joint-venture to develop interactive services
for the Chinese consumer markets. It is expected that AOL's content,
chiefly its music properties, will play a key part in the overhaul of
fm365.com.
"The branding will need to be revamped following the partnership," said
Tsang.
Tsang believed Burnett's presentation of its Ad Savvy China research
findings had helped swing the business its way.
The research was both quantitative and qualitative and looked at how
Chinese consumers responded to advertising. It found urban Chinese were
no different from consumers elsewhere and were tired of boring,
Chinese-style advertising.
"The Ad Savvy research showed them our understanding of consumers in
China, our willingness to invest to understand Chinese consumers better
and our focus on creative excellence," said Tsang.
