Rolls-Royce tasks Interone to beef up digital push in China

The brand's initial focus is expected to be on two areas: revamping its China website and strengthening its digital presence on weibo—the biggest social networking platform in China.

The account was awarded after a period of careful consideration, according to a representative from the agency. Interone, an integrated creative agency of German origin owned by BBDO Worldwide, has been working on the digital account of BMW, including for Mini. Its client portfolio also includes Hilton Hotels & Resorts Asia-Pacific, Bosch Home Appliance and Canon. Rolls-Royce's main competitor in China is Bentley, which operates under the Volkswagen Group.

According to a CNBC article last January, the US has overtaken China once again as Royce-Rolls’ top market. "The US proved to be quite strong at the end of the year, and we've had a certain slowdown in the Chinese market," Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of Rolls-Royce, was quoted as saying in the article.

The slowdown in China sales is believed to have been prompted by the change in leadership in that country and wealthy citizens holding off on major purchases until they could gauge the tenor of the new political leaders in that country.

Note: This article initially stated that Interone had been awarded the business without a pitch. The account was in fact awarded after a period of evaluation that took into account various potential partners.