The appointment comes at the 10 year mark of the long-standing relationship between Saatchi & Saatchi China and Mondelez.
Saatchi & Saatchi will be Mondelez’s lead agency for all gum and candy brand strategy and creative work both locally in China and within the wider Asia Pacific (APAC) region, with the operation headquartered at Saatchi & Saatchi China.
The relationship started in 2006 when Saatchi & Saatchi China began strategy and creative work for brands like Prince, Ritz, Uguan, Pacific and Choclairs. In 2012, Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai successfully launched Stride for Mondelez in China, where it enjoyed an impressive sales record and quickly went from an unknown to one of the most popular gum brands in China. Their slogan, ‘Just Can’t Stop It’ became one of the most loved and widely repeated phrases among young consumers, fuelling continued brand growth.
Mondelez decided to consolidate the rest of the APAC gum and candy business with Saatchi & Saatchi as a result of these and other successes in China and the region at large. Saatchi & Saatchi will take charge of all gum and candy business for the APAC region with key markets such as China, Japan, Thailand, India, and others effective immediately.
The account will be supervised by the Saatchi & Saatchi China team; Irene Shum, Managing Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai, will become the Regional Business Lead, Fan NG, Chief Creative Officer of Saatchi & Saatchi North China, will be the Regional Creative Lead, and Jonathan Daly, Chief Strategy Officer of Saatchi & Saatchi APAC, will be the Regional Planning Lead. Together they will make up the core of the Saatchi & Saatchi Mondelez Regional team, working closely with the regional client and the regional media team, and supported by local Saatchi & Saatchi offices such as those in Shanghai, Tokyo, Mumbai and Bangkok.
Irene Shum, said, “We are all very excited to extend our great partnership with Mondelez across the region. This is a true testament of Saatchi & Saatchi remaining at the top of our game beyond China. We will work together to champion ‘One Team One Dream’ among the agency’s network of teams as well as between the agency and client teams. Together, we will strive on creative excellence and grow our clients’ business in the region.”
Commenting on the strengthened partnership, Leanne Cutts, President, Gum, Candy & Beverages from Mondelez Asia Pacific said, “Saatchi & Saatchi has proven to be a valuable partner delivering successful brand campaigns for us over the years. This next evolution in the partnership as our Gum & Candy category’s appointed APAC creative agency will help leverage on regional resources and capabilities in the category and further fuel growth across the markets.”