Dentsu tipped to scoop media account for China iPhone launch

Agencies shortlisted are believed to include Dentsu and Medicom, which both work with China Unicom. However, sources close to the pitch believe Dentsu is poised to win it.

Both Dentsu and Medicom declined to comment on the pitch.  

In July,  China Unicom called a review of its media business in China, with four agencies including incumbents MediaCom, Visioncn, Carat and Dentsu vying for the account. The account eventually moved to Dentsu from Visioncn.

Raynet Ogilvy is the leading creative agency for China Unicom. However, it remains unclear whether the mobile giant will call a creative pitch for the iPhone project or will run with a local adaptation of existing creative work.

In June it was reported that Apple had signed a three-year contract with China Unicom to sell its 3G iPhone in the mainland.

3G services are proving to be one of China’s biggest marketing battlegrounds this year. In the 2G market, China Unicom is the smallest of the big three operators with about 10 per cent market share, behind China Telecom (15 per cent) and China Mobile (75 per cent).