WPP's Ogilvy & Mather launches China Practice in North America to serve growing need for communication services by China-based companies and public sector institutions, companies seeking to expand into China

Andrew Rogers

NEW YORK and BEIJING , April 11, 2011 (press release) – Ogilvy & Mather announced today the launch of an official China Practice in North America. The China Practice will serve the growing need for communications services by China-based companies and public sector institutions as they move into international markets, and for companies seeking to expand into China.

The Ogilvy China Practice will be located in the company's global headquarters in New York City and will be overseen by newly appointed cross-cultural marketing expert Lyndon Cao, former General Manager of the China Daily (China’s national English-language newspaper) in the United States. Cao will report directly to Miles Young, Global CEO of Ogilvy & Mather, and will work closely with Scott Kronick, President of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide/North Asia and Jamie Moeller, Managing Director of the Global Public Affairs Practice at Ogilvy PR based in Washington DC.

Ogilvy has an established history of working with leading Chinese companies in the US, including the recent introduction of Fosun International, a leading Chinese conglomerate that the agency is introducing to the US marketplace this week. Among the services the Ogilvy China Practice offers are investor relations, corporate positioning, branding, marketing, government relations and other services designed to help Chinese companies grow their presence in the US marketplace. The Practice will also offer advisory services to help Ogilvy clients enter and win in the Chinese market.

“The establishment of a China Practice in New York supports our strategy to identify growing client marketing communication needs and to create dedicated services to meet those needs,” commented Young. "Not only do we handle the global marketing and communications work of more than a dozen Chinese firms, but the rate at which we are welcoming Chinese delegations to our offices in New York, Washington, Brazil and throughout Europe is astounding. We have wanted to establish a formal practice for some time and have found the right person in Lyndon to lead this.”

Young is no stranger to China either. Prior to becoming global CEO of Ogilvy in 2009, he spent nearly 15 years in Asia when he moved to Hong Kong in 1995 to take up the position of Chairman of Ogilvy in Asia. Young is also co-founder of the Ogilvy-Tsinghua Program for Public Branding, a joint venture with Tsinghua University in Beijing, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Tsinghua School of Journalism. He is also an Economic Consultant to the Jiangsu, China Provincial Government and a visiting Professor at Xiamen University.

“It's like returning home,” said Cao. “In establishing China Daily's operations in the North American market for the past four-and-a half years, I have built up an extensive network of like-minded experts with ideas that need an international network like Ogilvy & Mather to incubate. For me, there was really no other global network with such a focus on China. I am very excited about this next phase in my career.”

Prior to joining China Daily to lead its US operations, Cao worked in Ogilvy PR’s Public Affairs and Branding States Practice in Beijing helping governments and public sector institutions build and improve their communication capabilities.

From 1996 to 2002, as a diplomat at the Chinese Foreign Ministry and later the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations, Cao covered global crises in Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans, and contributed to UN deliberations on critical issues such as the expansion of the Security Council and UN peacekeeping reform. After taking on his new role at Ogilvy, Cao will continue to offer support to China Daily's overseas development. Cao received his Masters in Public Administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and holds a B.A. in English Literature from Fudan University, Shanghai.

Ogilvy & Mather’s operation in China regularly works with offices throughout Ogilvy’s global network of more than 450 offices in 120 countries to assist Chinese brands with their global development. Among these clients are personal technology brand Lenovo, national flag carrier Air China and the Chengdu Municipal Government. From Beijing and New York the agency also services more than 10 US-listed China-based companies with their global financial communications needs and has advised more than 20 US IPOs of China-based clients.

About Ogilvy & Mather
Ogilvy & Mather is one of the largest marketing communications companies in the world. Through its specialty units, the company provides a comprehensive range of marketing services including: advertising; public relations and public affairs; branding and identity; shopper and retail marketing; healthcare communications; direct, digital, promotion and relationship marketing. Ogilvy & Mather services Fortune Global 500 companies as well as local businesses through its network of more than 450 offices in 120 countries. It is a WPP company (NASDAQ: WPPGY).

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