BBDO Hong Kong CEO Clara Wong declined to be drawn on the reasons for the split, but Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong managing director Adam O’Conor, reflecting on the end of the agency’s long-standing Hong Kong relationship with Watsons, said the agency resigned the account because of “creative differences”.
“It was a long, hard decision, but we came to the conclusion that it was in the interests of both parties to resign the account,” he said.
But Margaret Siew, AS Watsons regional marketing director for health & beauty, said: “There was a clear understanding when I took over the role that it was a 12-month evaluation period to see how the relationship moved forward, but we came to the end of that process in September.” The brief, which called for Ogilvy to develop the brand’s first thematic approach for Asia-Pacific, is valued in excess of US$12 million. It covers a total of 11 markets, including China, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia - the six markets that Ogilvy picked up earlier this year (Media, 21 March).
The brief also covers Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Macau and Turkey. “With a retail brand, it’s got to be a regional brand that can cut across cultural, social and economic differences, and it has to communicate a holistic message,” said Wong, who will spearhead the account from a regional base of Hong Kong.
“Watsons is already very successful, but we need to increase shoppers’ basket size.”
Media, which is operated on a market-by-market basis by OMD, Carat and MediaCom was unaffected by the review, although Siew confirmed with Media that a review aimed at consolidating the brand’s agencies into a single media house was likely to be started by year-end.