HUAWEI PUTS MEDIA ACCOUNT TO PITCH

Initiative competes to retain region after winning Egypt.

Chinese tech giant Huawi has put its regional media planning and buying account out to pitch.

The incumbent agency Initiative MENA is pitching for the account, while Zenith and PHD are understood to have been invited to take part as well.

Huawei offers telecom network equipment, IT products and smart devices in 170 countries. Its creative mandate is currently handled by DDB Dubai.

Huawei Middle East confirmed the pitch was under way and a winner still to be announced.

Campaign understands that Initiative recently won the Egyptian media-buying for Huawei’s mobile devices division. That win will see Initiative’s Cairo office handle outof-home, cinema, print and digital.

The encumbent was Mindshare, which sources say retained some aspects of the account, although television planning and buying went to fellow WPP agency MEC.

Shenzhen-headquartered Huawei was recently accused by the UK’s Marketing Agencies Association of an “unacceptable” lack of transparency during a recently held creative pitch process for a global brief to launch a new smartphone.