Saatchi & Saatchi Publicis Taiwan loses Wei Chuan creative to McCann Worldgroup

The news comes after a competitive pitch last week that involved Dentsu, McCann, and Saatchi & Saatchi Publicis.

A source close to the client said that McCann will now take over majority of Wei Chuan’s creative business for its milk, coffee and instant-noodle brand Master Kong (康師傅). However its other products, including sauce products, were not part of this pitch.

A source close to the pitch also told Campaign Asia-Pacific that Kevin Yang (楊榮柏), who moved from Saatchi & Saatchi Publicis to McCann Taiwan as executive creative director in mid-July, has a close relationship with the client and a strong knowledge of Wei Chuan's business.

Master Kong's instant noodle products will be the main part of this account. The brand faces tough competition from other Taiwanese brands like Uni-President 统一, Vedan (味丹) and Weilih (維力) in the Taiwan market.

"Although Master Kong is a Taiwanese brand, ironically, since it is very successful in China market, many Taiwanese consumers misconceived Master Kong instant noodles as 'Made in China' products," another source said.

The source added that Master Kang is a late-launching brand in Taiwan instant noodle market. Uni-President is the market leader, followed by Vedan and Weilih. Master Kong launched in Taiwan around 2002, after it had succeeded in mainland China. so it does not have a very strong emotional bond with Taiwanese people.

By contrast, in China, Master Kong was the first instant noodle many Chinese people tried 20 years ago, and people have a strong affinity for the brand.

Tingyi Holding, which is the mother company of Wei Chuan Foods Corp, has opened the Instant Noodle Impression Museum at its Tianjin plant, a tourist attraction that explains the development of Tingyi's Master Kong brand noodles and lets fans experience the 'culinary culture' of this popular ready-to-eat food.