The pitch began on a global stage earlier in the year and reached Asia-Pacific in the summer. The current contenders for the account within the region are RMG Connect’s subsidiary XM Asia Pacific, Wunderman’s Agenda and Euro RSCG’s digital arm Euro RSCG 4D.
Within the region, XM Asia Pacific currently manages Nokia’s business in China, Southeast Asia, India and Australia. Observers of the pitch say RMG Connect is the agency favoured to retain the business.
According to sources close to the pitch, Nokia had planned to announce its digital agency-of-record before the new year, but the process has been delayed following the economic downturn. Because of this, Nokia is reevaluating its planning strategy and will announce the pitch result early next year, possibly as soon as January, after deciding upon a budget.
A source from an agency pitching for the account said the agencies have been largely left in the dark.
“There has not been a lot of news to come out at all since the agencies presented and we have not been told of any seismic changes either,” he said. “There has been a lot of uncertainty on Nokia’s end dealing with the downturn and how best to manage its digital assets. Nokia doesn’t know how this will impact the agency it chooses.
‘This could end up being for Nokia’s entire business or it could end up being bits and bobs as a cluster of agencies could be chosen to manage the business. Nokia has to decide this and it’s deciding this under large financial pressures,” he continued.
