M&C picks up Hutchison's Shanghai brief

SHANGHAI: M&C Saatchi has won the brief to launch Hutchison Whampoa's flagship commercial and residential development in Shanghai at the end of the year. ZenithMedia was tapped for the media agency role.

The development, located in the Old French Concession area of the city, was designed by internationally-acclaimed architect, Sir Terence Farrell.

M&C picked up the account after a four-month pitch, which also included a luxurious residential complex in Shanghai's Pudong district, aimed at high-ranking expatriates.

The agency's general manager, Janice Chan, said: "It was a hard-fought pitch that went to two rounds, but we won out with our communications strategy and creative recommendations."

The Hutchison Whampoa account is the latest in a string of wins for M&C's Hong Kong and China operations, totalling HK$51 million (US$6.6 million) in billings for the first half of this year.

New accounts won by the agency included the Mass Transit Railway Airport Express, The Standard, which is part of the Sing Tao Group, and below-the-line projects for Standard Chartered Bank and Cosmopolitan Cosmetics.