Mondelez taps Saatchi & Saatchi China as AOR for gum and candy

Mondelez has appointed Saatchi & Saatchi China as creative partner, taking charge of all gum and candy business for the APAC region with key markets including China, Japan, Thailand and India and others.Saatchi & Saatchi will be Mondelez’s lead agency for all gum and candy brand strategy and creative work in the APAC region and locally, with the operation headquartered at Saatchi & Saatchi China.The appointment comes at the 10-year mark of the relationship between Saatchi & Saatchi China and Mondelez. Their relationship started in 2006 when Saatchi & Saatchi China began strategy and creative work for brands like Prince, Ritz, Uguan, Pacific and Choclairs. In 2012, Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai launched Stride for Mondelez in China, where Stride enjoyed an impressive sales record and quickly went from an unknown to one of the most popular brands in China. Irene Shum, managing director of Saatchi & Saatchi Shanghai, will become the Regional Business Lead. Fan NG, chief creative officer of Saatchi & Saatchi North China, will be the regional creative Lead. Jonathan Daly, chief strategy officer of Saatchi & Saatchi APAC, will be the Regional Planning Lead. The three of them make up the core of the Saatchi & Saatchi regional team, working closely with Mondelez regional clients and the media regional team, supported by local Saatchi & Saatchi offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, Mumbai and Bangkok etc. Shum said: "This is a true testament of Saatchi remaining at the top of our game beyond China. We will work together to champion One Team One Dream among the Agency’s network of teams as well as between the Agency and Client teams. Together, we will strive on creative excellence and to grow our clients’ business in the region." Commenting on the strengthened partnership, Leanne Cutts, president, Gum, candy and beverages from Mondelez Asia Pacific, said: "Saatchi & Saatchi has proven to be a valuable partner delivering successful brand campaigns for us over the years. This next evolution in the partnership as our Gum & Candy category’s appointed APAC creative agency will help leverage on regional resources and capabilities in the category and further fuel growth across the markets.”