Market Catalyst in Cafe de Coral win

<p>HONG KONG: Market Catalyst International has scooped the HK$30 million (US$4 million) account of Chinese fast food operator </p><p>Cafe De Coral, which had about 15 agencies expressing interest in its </p><p>mid-year review. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The two-year-old marketing consultancy outgunned incumbent D'Arcy, which </p><p>had the account for the past three years, and McCann-Erickson Guangming, </p><p>according to Cafe's senior marketing manager Carmen Leung. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The move is effective this month and will see Market Catalyst handling </p><p>Cafe's creative and media briefs. "One of the important aspects in the </p><p>selection was the creative strategy. Market Catalyst was strong in this </p><p>area," she said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Market Catalyst chief executive Conrad Chiu said Cafe provided a tight </p><p>pitch brief, which asked for alternative ways to build its brand. "Cafe </p><p>de Coral is not a market leader for no reason. It is receptive to new </p><p>marketing ideas and initiatives. It is ready to step out of the comfort </p><p>zone of a conventional advertising-dominated approach," said Chiu. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Despite the slowing economy, Cafe has been reinvesting in its product, </p><p>upgrading outlets and introducing new selections to its menu. Leung said </p><p>competition was intense in the fast food category, but this led Cafe to </p><p>innovate and improve rather than cut prices as its competitors had </p><p>done. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Cafe de Coral Holdings has so far managed to buck the economic downturn, </p><p>with a 15 per cent profit gain for the year ending March 31, 2001 over </p><p>the same period last year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The higher than usual number of agencies expressing interest in the </p><p>pitch is seen as further evidence of the increasing sluggishness of the </p><p>local advertising market. "If times were normal, we would have had four </p><p>to five agencies at most pitching for an account of this size," a source </p><p>said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The company eventually considered pitches from five agencies, before </p><p>shortlisting three for final selection. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>