Weber Shandwick China Wins Great Wall Wine Retainer

Weber Shandwick China Wins Great Wall Wine Retainer

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 BEIJING – May 27, 2009 – Leading global public relations firm Weber Shandwick has won a 12-month retainer to conduct product public relations for COFCO Wines & Spirits Co., Ltd., the beverage branch of Chinese state-owned conglomerate COFCO, following a competitive five-way pitch.

Weber Shandwick previously partnered with the client’s special Olympic-edition Great Wall Wine in May 2008, helping the Beijing Olympic sponsor launch a series of marketing initiatives ahead of the Games last August.

“We were truly impressed with Weber Shandwick’s strategic thinking, creative ideas, and most importantly, their understanding of our brand and business needs,” said Wang Hong, vice president of COFCO Wines & Spirits Co., Ltd.

The brief calls for Weber Shandwick Beijing to implement a range of PR activities over the next year for various COFCO wines and spirits brands – including Great Wall Wine – the scope of which involve media relations; events; PR training; and interactive, social and emerging media activities.

“COFCO Wines & Spirits Co., Ltd. is one of the biggest brands of its kind in China. We look forward to applying our deep food and beverage expertise to increase awareness of their brand,” said Eric Thain, account director at Weber Shandwick Beijing.

About Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations agency with offices in 77 markets around the world. The firm’s reputation is built on its deep commitment to client service, creativity, collaboration and harnessing the power of Advocates — engaging stakeholders in new and creative ways to build brands and reputation. Weber Shandwick provides strategy and execution across practices such as consumer marketing, healthcare, technology, public affairs, corporate/financial and crisis management. Its specialized services include digital/social media, advocacy advertising, market research, and corporate responsibility. Weber Shandwick was named Global Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report and Large PR Firm of the Year by PR News in 2008. The firm also won the United Nations Grand Award for Outstanding Achievement in Public Relations an unprecedented three times. Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit http://www.webershandwick.com/.