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SHANGHAI – November 19, 2013 – Charles Sampson CEO Y&R China has announced the promotion of Kaiyu Li from Head of Planning Y&R China to Chief Strategy Officer Y&R China. Li will continue to oversee the planning output from Y&R’s three China offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou with the planners in those three offices reporting to him, Y&R China said in a press release.
This year has seen a series of important consumer studies from Y&R China; including Whispers, looking at emerging trends among youth and young adults, and Changing Middle Class, they said. There were also the ongoing proprietary Y&R research Brand Asset Valuator (BAV) and Generation Asia.
Effective immediately, Li’s responsibilities include continuing the focus on strategy being the foundation behind the network’s creativity. He will lead strategy across Asia and work with planning and office leaders in enhancing the strategic leadership and output to deliver greater value to clients.
“This promotion reflects the importance of strategic planning to Y&R in the region and Kaiyu’s contribution to our strong reputation in China for strategic planning. Y&R China has been recognized by 250 leading marketing directors as the number one agency for Understanding the Chinese consumer," said Sampson.
Added Li, “At Y&R we are strongly committed to adding value to our client’s brands, and planning is central to that. While consumers are changing and channels are proliferating fast, it’s never more important and harder for brands to stay relevant. The key task for planning at Y&R is to stay on top of all the changes and bring fresh consumer voice to strategies, and inspire effective world-class work.”
