Taobao is China’s largest e-commerce website and brand. This is Lintas’ first partnership with Taobao, and the second major win by Andy Xu, Lintas' new CEO and partner after signing the China Open creative account in April. Xu served the RenRen.com account when he was MD at JWT Beijing.
Taobao, the online shopping site operated by Alibaba Group, was launched in May 2003. Xu said that e-commerce is a brand new account category for Lintas. “The client has a unique understanding towards marketing strategy and creative development, and Lintas can help Taoboa to further promote its brand equity by producing some breakthrough creative media," he said.
Taobao's media agency partner in China is Mediacom, and the brand is engaging with a number of creative agencies for its various businesses.
In March, Taobao commissioned Ogilvy & Mather Advertising/Beijing to create a web video series called “Taobao never leaves the palm of your hand” spotlighting its mobile app.
According to statistics from Taobao, the site boasts more than 500 million users and registered an annual sales revenue of US$96 billion (RMB600 billion yuan) in 2011, accounting for 80 per cent of China's online shopping market.
In June 2011, Alibaba group chairman and CEO Jack Ma revealed that Taobao will be split into three different companies: eTao (to be used for shopping searches), Tmall (a B2C platform), and Taobao Marketplace (a C2C platform).