THE GOLD STANDARD AWARDS FOR CONSULTANCY OF THE YEAR: GREATER CHINA

Sponsored By: PR Newswire

The Winner: Weber Shandwick

Against the backdrop of market uncertainty and a cautious economic outlook in 2016, Weber Shandwick China reorganised its structure and invested in programmes that equipped its people with the skills and mindset to vastly enhance client service.

The results? The agency retained 85 percent of its client roster and won 82 percent of its new business pitches, posting year-on-year profit growth of 121 percent. In 2017, it opened a new outpost in Shenzhen.

Greater focus on data, digital analytics, social crisis management and creativity (including expanding the creative headcount by 25 people this year alone) has helped Weber Shandwick deliver more impactful campaigns and powered organic growth, with revenue from some of its top clients growing by 239 percent. Revenue from Chinese brands alone grew by 40 percent year-on-year, driven by new business wins of 21 percent in the sector

A number of China-made innovations helped cement its position as a global leader in the industry. Using big data as a foundation, it created C3 (“Content, Community, Commerce”), a proprietary service that helps clients drive social commerce campaigns. It also re-engineered “KLOUD”, its influencer management and engagement offering, into a powerful research, database, talent management, social listening and measurement tool. Together, these are helping clients reap tremendous business value as engagement is turned into sales.

One example: to increase awareness of Ocean Spray’s cranberry products and drive online sales, it live-streamed two popular digital influencers from Ocean Spray’s cranberry harvest bog in the US, attracting 2.5 million viewers and boosting sales by 57 percent.

Elsewhere, it combined its expertise in creating entertaining, shareable content with strategic influencer selection to help Warner Bros’ first animated movie in China, “Storks”, hit No. 1 in the Box Office.

As a result of this success, C3 and KLOUD are being rolled out across the agency’s global network.

The agency is committed to nurturing and retaining talent with international exchange and work placements, participation in global conferences, training and mentorships, as well as flexible time and workplace arrangements. Continuing years of stability, its leadership team remained strong with zero turnover.

Weber Shandwick has continued to drive high-quality social impact campaigns as part of its China Access to opportunity (A2O) initiative. Its people are involved in various social causes and it is an annual participant in the China LGBT job fair.

In March 2017, Weber Shandwick China Chairman David Liu launched a self-help book entitled “There are No Strangers Under the Sun” to share his experience, tips and insights on how to enhance communications skills, and the agency has sustained efforts to help shape the next generation of Chinese communicators through lecturing engagements with Fudan University in partnership with the London School of Economics.