BMW China creative account going up for pitch; Leo Burnett on alert

Reliable sources tell Campaign Asia-Pacific that BMW China commenced the pitch in early June. The process is underway with conversations with a variety of agencies.

Incumbent agency Leo Burnett has held the account for the last five years and will take part in the hope of retaining the business won against Interone in May 2009.

The new contract is likely to be for three-to-five years, worth up to US$5.62 million (RMB35 million) annually.

Separately, BMW had called digital creative and media pitches for its MINI brand last year and then allocated the business to VML IM2.0 and Carat respectively.

Roth Observatory will manage the pitch process, but declined to comment. Donald Chan, CEO at Leo Burnett Greater China, said he is under strict confidentiality not to discuss the matter.

Earlier this month, BMW made five vice-president appointments in China at one go. In charge of marketing and sales at both BMW and its Chinese partner Brilliance Auto, the five are: Li Long (northern region); Liu Zhi (southern region); Zhan Fei (western region); Shao Bin (southeast region); Zhao Yi Jia (eastern region).