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Havas Riverorchid, TBWA and Y&R make Ooredoo pitch shortlist that excludes incumbent

Bates CHI & Partners 'Phalan Phalan' campaign for Ooredoo

Ooredoo’s ‘Phalan Phalan’ campaign

One of the biggest advertising pitches of the year in Myanmar has reached the shortlist stage.

The creative, digital, media and PR pitch for Ooredoo, one of two international telcos that have been competing for a slice of Myanmar’s exploding mobile market since 2013, sees recently acquired Havas Riverorchid, Y&R, which opened a Burmese office two years ago, and the Thai office of TBWA feature on the shortlist for creative that excludes incumbent Bates CHI & Partners.

Bates opted out of the pitch as the agency does not have a regular presence on the ground and did not want to function as Ooredoo’s inhouse agency, according to an industry source.

Shortlisted for Ooredoo’s media buying business are Havas Riverorchid and Sail Omnicom, which is also in contention for the digital account, along with TBWA and Phibious.

Ogilvy and Vero PR go head to head for Ooredoo’s public relations account in a full service review managed by R3.

This is the third pitch Ooredoo has held in 18 months.

Ooredoo appointed Bates CHI & Partners as its advertising agency last year. The account was run from the agency’s IndoChina hub in Ho Chi Minh City. Bates announced the appointment of a senior suit from London to lead the business on the ground in Yangon in August.

Bates created Ooredoo’s recent Phalan Phalan campaign for Ooredoo, part of an attempt to win back share from rival Telenor with lower cost mobile internet.

The news emerges the week after rival Telenor, which has forged a big market lead in Myanmar over the last year, launched a campaign aimed at young Burmese that pushed the reach and capabilities of its 3G offering.

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