UPDATE: Taobao Mall appoints Zenith to US$29m media, Lowe China to handle creative

The media account is reportedly worth RMB200 million (US$29 million). Zenith Media will be responsible for clearly marking the distinction between C2C site Taobao.com and B2C site Taobao Mall.

Lowe China won the creative duties for Taobao Mall following a creative pitch that also took place in August. The agency, which has already started work on the account, will be responsible for building Taobao Mall's brand image and accelerating online traffic to the site.

The agencies will partner on a large-scale brand awareness campaign to launch in the fourth quarter.

Taobao Mall takes the lead in China with an 80 per cent market share, followed by Amazon.cn (formerly online shopping site Joyo.com acquired by Amazon in 2004).

The e-shopping platform is popular among white-collar workers in tier one and two cities, as well as netizens in lower tier cities.

Brands that have opened online stores on Taobao Mall include Adidias, Uniqlo, Philips, Nokia, Lenovo, Johnson's & Johnson's, Li Ling, Anta, Dell, Microsoft and Wyeth.