History in China

Ogilvy opened its Hong Kong office as a portal poised to tap into the Greater China market.

Following along with economic reform, Wenhui Bao, a Shanghai newspaper announces the reintroduction of commercial advertising in a January editorial. Following quickly on this announcement, Ogilvy ran the first watch advertisement in Mainland China on March 15, for Rado Watches.

Cathay and Ogilvy created a joint venture company, and Ogilvy Taiwan was born as the first 4A agency in Taiwan.

With all eyes on China, TB Song (today’s Chairman, Ogilvy Greater China) officially set up the Shanghai office of Ogilvy China with a team of 20.  Our very first clients included big internationals like Unilever and Volkswagen, whom we still serve today.

Ogilvy moved to the industrial heart of Southern China to open an office in Guangzhou.

Ogilvy brought its Public Relations arm to China, while the practice was still in its infancy.

Ogilvy China helped Volkswagen launch Santana in China, and it soon became one of China’s best-selling models. The campaign slogan, “With Santana, there is no fear wherever you go” was used for nearly a decade.

Ogilvy Interactive was established in Beijing. IBM, who we still serve today, was our first client. In 2002, the agency evolved into OgilvyOne and has become China’s leading digital agency, as noted by Forrester Research in 2015.

 

 

Ogilvy China wins its very first Cannes Lion with a digital work for China Mobile M-Zone.

 

Ogilvy not only supports big brands, it looks to foster local artists and the growing creative industry. To show off talent in the office and around the city, Beijing established their first in-house permanent art exhibition, ‘O Gallery.’ Paintings, photographs, sculptures, avant-garde furniture and 3D installations fill the walls and spaces.

Redworks, which focuses on content creation and production, is established. It will later become H&O in 2015.

Ogilvy China acquired Century Harmony to establish Neo@Ogilvy in China. Neo@Ogilvy is now one of the top digital media agencies in China.

Ogilvy China acquired Dawson to further expand its retail activation capabilities. Today it has evolved into Geometry Global, the largest retail activation force in China.

Ogilvy launched Portfolio Night in China, working to target young local talent, and encourage young creatives to follow their dreams and ambitions.

David Ogilvy would have turned 100 years old this year! He would have been happy to see that Ogilvy would also be celebrating its 20 year in the Middle Kingdom…

Ogilvy China won Ogilvy Asia’s first Grand Prix at Cannes with “Coke Hands.”

Ogilvy created a joint venture with Yindu, and Yingdu Ogilvy was founded to extend Ogilvy’s regional footprint and better serve local clients.

social@Ogilvy officially enters China.

As Internet of Things emerged in China, Ogilvy China established K1ND (pronounced One Kind) in Beijing. This innovation unit help companies take their physical products and create connectivity that fits in our new digital frontier.

Ogilvy acquired XMKT to further extend the capabilities of retail activation and customer events. XMKT later became part of Geometry Global.

Ogilvy was awarded Greater China Creative Agency of the Year, and Greater China Digital Agency of the Year by Campaign.

All China Ogilvyers met in Sanya in our first national get-together. This was a celebration of our scale and diversity!

Ogilvy in Beijing helped Visit Britain create the largest ever campaign launched in China by a national tourism board. Lauded in social media and at the awards show circuit (it won 2 Golds and 1 Silver at Cannes as well as a Platinum Award at the 2015 SABRE Awards), this campaign is a showcase to how far the Chinese market has come and opens the doors to a bright new future.

Ogilvy Shanghai moves into their new offices at the WPP Campus, a co-collaboration space housing 26 WPP Agencies.