JWT appointed global network agency on Nokia

Cellular major Nokia has appointed JWT as its global creative network agency. The agency will handle the Nokia business in 95 markets, including India and China.

Globally, the Nokia business has been divided between two agencies – a network agency and a global creative independent agency. While the network creative duties have been awarded to JWT now, the global creative part of the creative duties was awarded to Wieden+Kennedy, an independent creative-led advertising agency with offices in Portland, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo, London and Amsterdam.

The pitch for this business has been going on for the last six months now, and agencies from tens of countries had participated in the pitch.

The Nokia pitch was led by three JWT executives based out of London – client service director, DTC, Deborah Huret; chief creative officer, JWT Worldwide, Craig Davis; and global planning director, Guy Murphy. These three will form the nexus of a thinking group that will lead the Nokia business in a multicultural market. Huret will serve as global business director for the Nokia business.

Nokia also has formed a core marketing group, which will now be based in London. This core group will have representation from different markets within the Nokia family.

The winning team that worked on the global pitch had representatives from all regions. The list also includes an Indian – Maneesh Rangra,V-P, JWT India, who played an active role.

JWT now plans to have a separate team for the Nokia business in each region, which will be almost like having an agency within the agency, similar to the Team LG arrangement at Maxus. In India, Bates David Enterprise was in charge of this business. Interestingly, JWT has already got two senior executives from Bates who were working on the Nokia business – Sanjay Tandon, who headed the Nokia business at Bates, and Abhik Santara, who assisted Tandon on this business.

Senior executives at the agency feel that this win reinforces the JWT’s standing as a network of individuals capable of developing and implementing best-in-class local insights, thinking, idea and executions.

The win will also help JWT expand its presence in important markets far beyond New York and London into markets from Russia to Nigeria and beyond. This also emphasises its global remit – to be the best local agency.

Till the time of filing the story, executives at Nokia India couldn’t be contacted. So it couldn’t be ascertained how Weiden+Kennedy and JWT will share the business in India.