The briefs are mainly contested by local shops, though some of Haier's roster of international agencies, which includes Asatsu-DK, Dentsu, DraftFCB and Saatchi & Saatchi, are also thought to be involved.
Haier's local team in each city is working with company headquarters in Qingdao on the reviews, with the successful agency setting up a dedicated team in the local Haier office. The company is also thought to be keen to extend the reviews to other major metros, waiting to gauge the success of the initial assignments before pressing ahead. "You need to be very close to your local competition," said a senior agency executive taking part in the one of the pitches. "They have very different competitors in different provinces."
The BTL drive comes at a time when Haier's main board is looking to implement a consistent corporate brand across the company.
