Myanmar’s second-largest telco, Ooredoo, has launched a tender to review its creative and media-agency partnerships.

According to marketing consultancy R3, which has been engaged to manage both pitches, the reviews are in line with the telco’s policy to ensure good corporate governance through regular reviews of its key vendors and strategic partners.

The incumbents on the creative and media accounts respectively are Bates CHI & Partners and RiverOrchid. They have held the accounts since 2014.

It is vital for Ooredoo that the agencies it selects have strong local resources and intend to invest locally in consumer insights, said Rachel Goh, Ooredoo’s CMO. “Strong partnerships with our agencies will be crucial to ensure we get maximum ROI on our advertising investments and that we connect with consumers through effective channels,” she added.

Shortlisted agencies will engage in chemistry workshops with the Ooredoo team, following which a final shortlist of three will be given a strategic brief for final presentations.

“Myanmar offers a frontier for companies to put in place best-practice models without having to undo legacy barriers,” said Goh Shufen, co-founder and principal of R3. “We are very excited with this opportunity to help Ooredoo put in place sustainable marketing and agency models.”

According to Myanmar Business News, Ooredoo had 3.3 million subscribers as of March 2015, making it the nation’s second-largest telco after Telenor Myanmar, which has 6.4 million subscribers.

Source: Campaign Asia