The management team at BBH China (clockwise from top left): Adrey Low(head of account management); Johnny Tan(ECD); Arto Hampartsoumian(CEO); Christine Ng(md).

Ad Age China’s 2009 Agency of the Year: BBH China

SHANGHAI (AdAgeChina.com) — Every Western agency entering China faces enormous challenges, whether it’s working with local companies or finding good staff or keeping up with the rapid pace of change.

But Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Ad Age China’s Agency of the Year for 2009, was the first international network to take on China by itself.

Until January 2006, agencies had to operate in the mainland through joint-ventures with local companies.

After wading through red tape for most of that year, BBH became the first significant international advertising network to open a wholly-owned office in the mainland at the end of 2006.

It was a risky move, said Arto Hampartsoumian, BBH’s CEO, China, who was lured from Wieden & Kennedy, Tokyo, to open the Shanghai office.

“China needed another agency like a hole in the head,” he said.

“We had to prove what was unique about BBH, that we share the same values that made BBH great elsewhere but also we understand the Chinese market,” he added.

Revenue up 74% last year
BBH’s gamble to fly solo in China has paid off. With just 51 staff today (up from 36 in January 2009), the Shanghai office picked up over $29 million in new business last year, according to the independent marketing consultancy R3, and grew revenue by 74%.

The Shanghai office also retained its major existing clients such as Coca-Cola Co., LG Mobile, Diageo, Perfetti Van Melle and Unilever.

The agency has earned widespread praise from industry watchers like Greg Paull, a principal at R3 in Beijing who describes BBH as “the only [agency in China] doing truly breakthrough work.”

BBH China managed to “move beyond niche and tackle some big accounts like Coke’s dairy [products] and Minute Maid, as well as [Unilever's Surf] washing powder,” said P.T. Black, a partner at the marketing consultancy Jigsaw in Shanghai. “They even made Chupa Chups cool.”

“In China, BBH stands out for its extremely strong planning capability, genuine Chinese insights that result in work that’s relevant for China. They are very committed to durable creative ideas,” said Alan Jope, Unilever’s CEO, Greater China in Shanghai.

BBH China “is not a big agency,” Mr. Hampartsoumian admitted. But his shop benefits from the network’s focus on strategy. “BBH is famous for planning globally and that has continued in China, which is why good work comes out of our office. It makes us more fleet-of-foot compared to bigger Western networks.”