SHANGHAI, January 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaders from Omnicom agencies urged companies to adopt innovative thinking and engage audiences in meaningful ways across multiple communication platforms. This was the strong message delivered at the B2B Leadership Symposium held at the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai yesterday.
Agency leaders shared insights and best practices, and discussed the challenges companies are facing in China in light of the ever-advancing digital and social media space against the increasingly complex policy and regulatory environment.
Organized by Doremus, in collaboration with other DAS agencies, with the theme of The New Era of Modern B2B Marketing, the Symposium was attended by 100 communications professionals from across Greater China and internationally.
Senior executives from Omnicom Group, DAS, Doremus, FleishmanHillard, GMR Marketing/TRO, Jigsaw Communispace and Siegel+Gale, together with a marketing specialist from Bayer Material Science and the Dean of China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) shared their insights during the day.
Opening speaker, Serge Dumont, Vice Chairman Omnicom Group Inc., said, "Opportunities for B2B clients today are as exciting as the challenges are daunting. In such an environment, innovation and creative solutions play a crucial part in successful outcomes. Omnicom agencies, who are steeped in best practice and are best in class on B2B, have shown during this symposium how to meet those challenges, and how to capitalize on those opportunities."
And in the closing remarks Howard Sherman, Doremus, President & CEO, International, concluded that, "There is no doubt that our world is changing faster than ever before, and how we think about engaging in meaningful ways with our customers has never been more important. We need to be conscious that our customers are time starved, communications weary and live in a highly social world, where peer influence and access to data rule the day."
Dale A. Adams, DAS Group of Companies, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Global, explained that the Omnicom agency model meets the call from business for intimate collaboration and efficient integration of the specialty expertise required for effective marketing and communication.
"Cross-sectoral collaboration has the potential to drive the next wave of social advance and business growth", said Rachel Catanach, FleishmanHillard Hong Kong, Senior Vice President and Senior Partner, Managing Director. "By seeking partnerships with government and civil society to solve China's most pressing social issues and making shared value a business objective rather than a discrete initiative, B2B companies in China can get in front of this wave."
According to Jason Cieslak, Siegel+Gale, President, Pacific Rim, tomorrow's great Chinese brands will be businesses that embrace the power of simplicity and deliver clear and surprising customer experiences.
"To keep up with the unparalleled pace of change in China, we need to stop treating research and collaboration as one off transactional exchanges, and start thinking about them as on-going relationships", David Griffiths, Jigsaw Communispace, Vice President, APAC explained.
Marian Koa, Doremus, Managing Director, China added that, "Effective advertising and marketing metrics are critical to winning in this fast changing, complicated and competitive marketplace in China."
Lu Kan, TRO Managing Director, China, shared his experience in experiential marketing. "It's an ever changing customer group that we're talking to, which requires all marketers to go beyond conventional concepts of B2B communication. Sponsoring great sports assets is a good start, while creating unique, engaging and integrated experience and relevant contents from those assets will be the ultimate game changer."
The Symposium was created three years ago when Doremus identified a knowledge gap within the B2B community.
Event website: http://www.b2bsymposium.asia
For more information, please contact:
May Wong
Director of Strategic Alliances and Marketing
Doremus
Tel: +852-2842-1990
Email: may.wong@doremus.com.hk
About the Organizers
Omnicom Group Inc. (www.omnicomgroup.com) is a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.
The DAS Group of Companies (www.dasglobal.com) is the world's largest group of marketing services companies. A division of the Omnicom Group, DAS provides a broad range of marketing communications services including public relations, crisis management, branding, sales promotion, customer relationship management and specialty communications such as health care advertising for some of the largest global brands. With over 5000 worldwide clients, the DAS division is the largest unit within Omnicom, itself the world's largest advertising holding company.
Doremus (www.doremus.com) is a specialist in a world of generalists. With offices in every major business center: New York, San Francisco, London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, and Singapore. It specializes in business communications, helping companies align their communications with their business objectives. It does this by leveraging a unique understanding of the complexity of their industries and audiences, and translating that into compelling business-building solutions. BtoB magazine, the leading publication in business communications, recognized Doremus with its prestigious "Top Midsize Agency" title for 2012 and 2010. Doremus is a part of the DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc.
FleishmanHillard (www.fleishman.com) is the world's most complete global communications firm, specializing in public relations, public affairs, marketing, paid media, and transmedia and social content. FleishmanHillard delivers on The Power of True, reflecting the firm's high values, and unique ability to guide clients through a world demanding unprecedented authenticity and transparency. In Asia-Pacific, the firm is headquartered in Hong Kong, and has operations in Bangalore, Bangkok, Beijing, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, New Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. FleishmanHillard was named PRWeek's 2014 Global Agency of the Year, 2014 Asia Pacific Agency of the Year, "Standout Agency" on Advertising Age's 2013 A-List; NAFE's "Top 50 Companies for Executive Women" for 2010-2014; and among PRWeek's 2013 "Best Places to Work." FleishmanHillard is part of Omnicom Group Inc., and has more than 85 offices in 30 countries, plus affiliates in 42 countries.
GMR Marketing (www.gmrmarketing.com) is an award-winning global engagement marketing agency, founded in 1979. We create unforgettable experiences across sports, music, entertainment and lifestyle -- helping brands connect with people via their passions. The outcome: true connections that last. Our team of 850+ creates, consults and activates in 70 countries, covering every continent from 17 offices in 9 countries. Many of the world's best known brands turn to GMR for insights and analytics; consulting and strategic planning; creative ideation and design; digital, social and mobile marketing; event and hospitality production and much more. In 2013, we helped our clients earn honors including Cannes Lions, Webby, Effie and EventTech awards. In 2014, Sports Business Journal named GMR the Sports Event and Experiential Agency of the Year. The agency is headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, USA.
TRO (www.tro-group.com), part of CPM, is a live events / experiential agency founded in the UK with over 30 years' experience. TRO creates innovative experiences that change the hearts, minds and behaviors of consumers and get them talking about the brand through the creative integration of both online and offline engagement.
Jigsaw Communispace (www.communispace.com) is the world's leading collaboration agency, and has helped brands solve marketing challenges by partnering up with key people (B2B/B2C customers, retailers, experts, etc) on an on-going manner via online communities since 1999. To date, Communispace has served hundreds of the world's leading brands and launched over 700 communities, leveraging the wisdom of the crowd from 92 countries. In Asia, we are called Jigsaw Communispace, a full-service agency with capabilities spanning online communities, end-to-end innovation, trends and F2F qualitative and quantitative methodology. With this comprehensive suite of offers, we are passionate in helping our clients achieve sustainable growth and tangible impact.
Siegel+Gale (www.siegelgale.com) is a global strategic branding firm committed to building world-class brands through elegantly simple, unexpectedly fresh strategies, stories and experiences. With Simple is Smart as its operating philosophy, Siegel+Gale delivers powerful services in brand development, simplification, research, and digital strategy. With its offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Hamburg, Dubai, Shanghai and Beijing, Siegel+Gale has helped drive business results for brands such as American Express, China Youth Development Foundation, Dell, Dow Chemical Company, The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Microsoft, Motorola, Pfizer, Qatar Telecom, SAP, Sony PlayStation, Yahoo! and the YMCA.
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