e.wire is WPP’s monthly public bulletin of news and initiatives across the Group’s worldwide network. The following are edited highlights; view the full version here.

HEADLINERS

Stop Press

Ogilvy expands China reach with Nanjing Yindu stake

Ogilvy & Mather has acquired, subject to regulatory approval, 49% of Nanjing Yindu Advertising and Commerce Co., Ltd. (Yindu), the leading independent advertising agency in the People´s Republic of China. This move expands Ogilvy´s reach into the important Yangtze River Delta. Founded in 1994 and based in Nanjing, it employs 250 people. Clients include Jiangsu Mobile, Heilan Home, Jiangsu Yanghe Brewery, Nanjing Iveco, MoonHare, Simcere, Longliqi and China Construction Bank.

VML takes majority stake in Qais

VML has acquired a majority stake in Qais Consulting, a leading digital marketing agency in Singapore. The combined operation is rebranding as VML Qais, and will operate as part of Y&R Asia. Founded in 2005 and based in Singapore, with a presence in Mumbai, India, Qais is a highly-awarded full-service digital marketing agency. Clients include Standard Chartered Bank, Sony Electronics, Sony Pictures, Hilton Hotels, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and the Singapore Ministry of Defence.

Cohn & Wolfe expands in Southeast Asia with XPR acquisition

Cohn & Wolfe has signed an agreement to acquire XPR, one of Singapore´s largest independent communications agencies, with additional offices in Malaysia and Indonesia. As one of Southeast Asia´s leading digital-centric PR agencies, XPR counts among its clients some of the biggest names in banking, sports, technology and lifestyle, including Groupon, SingTel, BMW Asia, Salesforce.com and Motorola Mobility. XPR is ranked annually as one of the top 10 PR agencies in Singapore and was most recently named 2011 Agency of the Year by Marketing magazine.

Ogilvy PR takes majority stake in Hong Kong-based Mind Resource

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide is taking a majority stake in Mind Resource, an independent healthcare communications agency in Hong Kong, subject to relevant approvals being obtained. Founded in 2007, Mind Resource offers event planning, production services and public relations consultancy to clients in the pharmaceutical sector. The agency employs 18 people and clients include Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer, Novartis and Bayer.

New Offers

Lincoln and WPP´s Team Detroit create boutique creative agency for Lincoln in New York

Lincoln and Team Detroit at WPP have announced the creation of a new luxury-oriented boutique agency dedicated to Lincoln´s brand reinvention and creative marketing communications strategy. The agency is based in New York City and headed by luxury automotive veteran, Cameron McNaughton, who joins as President of the agency and reports to Satish Korde, CEO, Team Detroit.

Wunderman launches new Marketing Solutions Center

Wunderman´s just-launched Marketing Solutions Center delivers a global, end-to-end, production and campaign execution service that lowers delivery costs, increases campaign effectiveness and enhances brand consistency. The new entity meets industry demand for rapid adaptation, execution and optimization of creative content across print, digital, mobile and broadcast platforms.

New Business

Philips awards global creative account to Ogilvy.

Best Buy taps CHI and Wunderman for digital duties.

Revlon consolidates global media planning and buying with MediaCom.

People

Trade expert and economist Luis de la Calle named President of Hill+Knowlton Strategies Latin America.

Ginny Bahr clocks up 60 years´ service at JWT New York.

Awards

Maxus named Campaign´s 2011 Media Network of the Year in the UK.

Ogilvy Africa named AdFocus Agency of the Year for an unprecedented third year.

New Business Enquiries

Are you looking for an advertising or marketing services partner? WPP can help point you in the right direction - find out how.

Insights

BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Chinese Brands 2012 - second annual rankings

Commissioned by WPP and in its second year, the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Chinese Brands ranking is unique. Combining both financial data, from Bloomberg and Kantar Worldpanel, as well as consumer opinion gathered from interviews with over 35,000 Chinese consumers, the BrandZ China Top 50 is the most robust ranking of Chinese brands available. View the rankings.

2012 trends and forecasts from WPP companies

In Landor Associates´ 2012 Trends Forecast: Market trends and their impact on brands, Landor experts discuss how digital relates to their given topics. View the forecast.

Millward Brown´s Futures Group has published its predictions for the digital media sector in 2012. It sees ‘gamification,´ virtual togetherness´ and real-time online decision making as three key trends. Full details here.

JWT has published its 10 Trends for 2012, which include ‘The Rise of Shared Value‘ and ‘Food as the New Eco-Issue.‘ Learn more here.

WPP Reading Room

Find the latest and best published thinking from Group professionals in WPP´s popular Reading Room: groundbreaking articles, research, books, videos, blogs and more.

Some recent features include:

Added Value´s Cashing in on Culture: Breathing New Life into Old Brands reveals how one of the biggest challenges of consumer research is that it is often focused on the present.
In Twitter Brand Pages, Mindshare looks at how Twitter now enables brands to customise their profile pages, allowing them to take greater control of the look and feel of the page, as well as making it easier to share more content.
RTCRM: Ever thought about giving your social media-obsessed friend or family member a tangible reminder of their social network? Knowing basic information about your pal will help you select the right gift for the holidays. For more, read Giving Social: Gifts for the Social Media Obsessed.

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