Women to Watch Greater China 2021: Vivian Yong, Wieden+Kennedy

Vivian Yong

Executive creative director
Wieden+Kennedy
Shanghai

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Vivian Yong began her advertising career in Hong Kong more than two decades ago, where she worked at M&C Saatchi and Ogilvy & Mather. She next moved to London, where she became a cultural studies post-graduate and a writer covering UK art and culture for Hong Kong readers. When she moved to Shanghai in 2012 as a creative director at W+K Shanghai, Yong brought back a multicultural background and a unique global and local perspective. She has parlayed this into a knack for creating integrated brand campaigns for global brands, adapted for Chinese audiences. Fittingly, she also created China-based campaigns that went on to be adapted for global markets. 

Since Yong took the helm as executive creative director, the W+K Shanghai office has experienced double-digit growth along with double-digit margins. In 2020, Yong’s creative leadership was the secret behind Nike’s hugely successful esports campaign and its first Chinese New Year campaign. In the face of the pandemic, Yong and her leadership partners avoided layoffs and won six new clients.

Yong has also used her prominent platform as a female leader in the industry to nurture young women creatives through both internal and external programs. For example, Yong established an internal strategy called ‘The Hot Pot Culture,’ bringing people with different cultural backgrounds together to create works for local and global audiences. Since she stepped into leadership, the office’s turnover rate has dropped to 8%. An intern she “handpicked” for mentoring is now a senior copywriter who’s winning international recognition.

Neil Christie, W+K’s global director of growth markets, says that Yong “balances a passion for excellence in the work with a commitment to nurturing and developing people in the agency.” Yong was recently honoured by Adweek, which included her on its Creative 100 list in 2020.