Wunderman ships in first China planning lead from Seattle

Miller, who is based in Shanghai and started in February, is the first planning lead the agency has had in China. He relocated to Shanghai from Seattle.

Planning teams in Wunderman's different offices in China operated independently prior to this. But Wunderman is at the point in its growth that it "needed a person with lots of experience to head it", according to Bryce Whitwam, managing director of Wunderman Shanghai.

The planning function in digital agencies is no longer about "pipeline execution stuff and moving consumers around in a media ecosystem in a very channel-focused way", said Whitwam. Clients are now demanding creative solutions powered by data and based on consumer insights. Therefore planning is now a priority to build up Wunderman's skill set, he explained. "The difference between Wunderman and creative agencies is our planners need to have lot of tools to integrate CRM, loyalty marketing and branding," Whitwam said.

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Martin Conneen, regional president of Wunderman Asia Pacific, said the agency saw the need for a new role in the planning team since new business performance in China jumped 45 per cent in 2014.

"Mark’s experience in creating and deploying large global integrated marketing campaigns, as well as his in-depth knowledge of digital and CRM infrastructures, is invaluable," Conneen said.

Miller brings 25 years of experience in digital, integrated and strategic planning. The agency's clients include Jaguar, Land Rover, Ford, Lincoln, Levi's, GSK, Xbox, Swarovski, Ecco and Timberland.