At the time, GroupM announced the acquisition of 49 per cent of the issued share capital of the agency, which employs over 100 people in Beijing and Shanghai. It is thought that GroupM is now exploring alternative avenues to handle its digital media investment requirements, including a tie-up with sister WPP agencies Neo@Ogilvy and Century Harmony.
A source familiar with the situation explained that the decision was HYLZ’s alone. The agency is believed to be taking back its digital planning and buying back in-house to the individual GroupM brands and GroupM trading, under the leadership of new MindShare digital lead Meg Wu.
HYLZ reported revenues of US$2.6 million for year ending 31 December 2005, based on a client base that includes China Mobile, Motorola, BMW, AMD and eBay. It is thought to have strong connections with online media vendors in China. WPP and GroupM representatives were unavailable for comment.
