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An independent brand and advertising consultancy helping international brands become famously successful in China.
Shanghai since 1996.
What We Do
Localized Brand Strategy
Advertising Development
Innovation Ideation
Adapting global brands for China’s unique market dynamics is an issue every international brand in China has grappled with.
We have helped many leading brands navigate the balance between global consistency and finding a compelling local proposition.
Whether your brand framework is a House, Wheel, Onion, Butterfly, Tree, or Key, we can help you find a no-compromise China solution that is on-brand globally.
With experience gaps and cross cultural issues it can be challenging to make things happen in China, we partner with agencies and clients to make big ideas a reality.
From supporting agencies in pitches to working directly with clients, we help manage the creative development process - writing sharp briefs, integrated communications planning, and delivering through execution, from thematic campaigns to brand-aligned retail concepts.
Driving innovation at speed is essential in China but it comes with unique challenges. We support brand owners through every stage of the innovation journey, from process planning and ideation to brand development and training.
Through structured, best-practice collaboration, we facilitate ideation workshops, develop concepts, support research and testing—providing the support needed to turn innovative ideas into action.
30 Years on China's Front-line
Stephen Drummond
Founder and Head of Planning
Stephen Drummond has spent over 30 years on the front-line of advertising and marketing in China. Not observing it. Operating inside it.
Today, he works independently with global companies who’ve realised the same thing:
what worked elsewhere doesn’t work here - and copying last year definitely won’t.
Where he’s been:
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Coca-Cola — Senior Director, IMC China / Creative Excellence APAC
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Young & Rubicam — China Chairman & Chief Strategy Officer
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Lowe Lintas — Head of Planning (Sydney, Hong Kong, Shanghai)
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J. Walter Thompson — China Planning Director
What he actually does:
Cuts through the noise - gets to actions.
Helps build brands that people notice, remember, and choose - using a mix of experienced strategic thinking, local Chinese insight, and evidence-based marketing principles that have nothing to do with flavour of the month marketing nonsense and everything to do with commonsense growth principles.
No jargon. No ‘digital transformation theatre’, no recycled playbooks.
Since 1996, he’s been on the ground helping companies like Coca-Cola, Unilever, Danone, HSBC, VW, Nike and Starbucks do the hard thing: become relevant in China - properly.
Some of that work became famous. Most of it simply worked.
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Prize-Winning Marketing Graduate, University of South Australia
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Campaign Asia's 50 Over 50 (2025)
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Cannes, D&AD, and loads of Effies
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APAC and China Effie Judge
Jasmine Drummond
Gen-Z China Expert
Australian-Chinese, our native China Gen Z, branding and digital expert.
Formerly brand and activation with Swire Group working on the group's prestige hotel brands in China. Internships with Saatchi and Saatchi and Coca-Cola social media.
Dissertation: 'Effects of Digital Marketing on Consumer Purchasing Experience Within the Luxury Goods Sector.'
Graduate of University College London with an MSc in Management.
Famously Successful Cases
Nike China Playbook
A piece of history as the first locally created Nike campaign in China (made in China for China).
The challenge was to inspire young China to ‘Just Do It' by confronting the country's sporting inferiority complex (at that time) by showcasing international-level skills through homegrown basketball players.
What began as a pitch against W+K became Asia’s Campaign of the Year and laid the foundation for Nike’s long-term success in China.
JWT Shanghai; ECD Sheung Yan Lo, Drummond; Strategy
'Share A Coke', China Style
Adapting ‘Share a Coke’ for China meant swapping first names for 50+ popular online nicknames. A custom track from superstar band Mayday, downloadable from the pack, turned the campaign into a cultural moment. The song became China’s #1 download, and the campaign drove a 20% seasonal sales lift—becoming the most successful and distinctive ‘Share a Coke’ activation globally.
Leo Burnett Shanghai; ECD Gordon Hughes / Julián Hernández. Coca-Cola China; Drummond – Senior Director IMC
Coke 'Hands' involved Coca-Cola's signature ribbon re-imagined in a simple yet powerful outdoor and print ad. An innovative combination of Coke's distinctive brand assets. Today this design asset is still used around the world in a variety of different applications. Coke 'Hands' won a Cannes Grand Prix (only the 2nd ever in China's history) and a D&AD Yellow Pencil.
Ogilvy Shanghai; Jonathan Mak Designer, Graham Fink Ogilvy ECD, Coca-Cola; Drummond – APAC Creative Excellence Director
The World’s Local Bank: Made Real Across Asia
The global platform emphasized the value of understanding and contrasting cultures. The Asia campaign localised this idea across all banking products—from credit cards and personal finance to business banking.
A famously successful, multi-award-winning campaign, including an Asia Grand Prix Effie for Best Long-Term Branding.
Lowe HK/Asia; ECD Giles Keeble / Mike O’Hare, Drummond; Strategy
Danone's Mizone: from Minor League to Major Player
Mizone’s repositioning began with the now-iconic ‘Tilt’ campaign, shifting the brand from a sports-only drink to one focused on everyday restoration—a move that delivered exponential sales growth. Its tagline, ‘Mizone Gets You Back’, has since become part of the local Chinese vernacular.
This Grand Prix Effie-winning campaign propelled Mizone to leadership in China’s functional beverage category, even surpassing Coca-Cola at one point in non-alcoholic beverages. Today, Mizone remains the category leader.
Y&R Shanghai; ECD Jonathan Teo, Drummond; Strategy
Cornetto ‘Love Is in the Air’: Super Sweet & Highly Effective
An innovative, unique fusion of owned branded content creation, thematic advertising, promotional incentives, and earned media. Led by a custom-composed, commissioned track—available under the lid with purchase—which became China’s most downloaded song.
Winner of Unilever’s Award for Most Effective Campaign, it drove a 50% sales increase and became the platform for five years of brand growth.
Nitro China; ECD Jennifer Tan, Drummond; Strategy
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GAP’s Launch: A Platform that Launched 500 Stores
GAP launched in China with a campaign that celebrated the fusion of an iconic American brand with Chinese cultural counterparts. Back in the days when everyone was a bit more friendly!
Winner of Greater China’s Campaign of the Year, this brand platform helped drive GAP’s expansion to 500 stores within five years.
Y&R China; ECD Nils Andersson, Drummond; Strategy
Made in China for China, Awarded Internationally
Effectiveness
- Coca-Cola China 'Nickname Bottle' (Grand Prix)
- HSBC 'World's Local Bank' (Long Term Branding)
- Danone's Mizone (China Grand Prix)
Unilever Best Activation Effectiveness Global
- Walls Cornetto 'Love in the Air'
Creative
- Cannes Grand Prix
- D&AD Yellow Pencil,
Coke 'Hands'
Campaign / Media 'Campaign of the Year':
- Nike Basketball China
- Gap 'Let's Gap Together'
Experienced in everything from toothpaste to auto, finance to ice-cream (and lots in-between)
Nice Things People Have Said
Severine Brichard-Rooney:
President, Nutricia US, former Regional CMO, Danone Asia
Stephen provided invaluable support during a pivotal moment for several key branding initiatives in China. He guided us through the entire process — from shaping our brand positioning and developing advertising propositions to moderating new product development sessions with global teams. Throughout, Stephen was highly collaborative, leveraging his deep market expertise and consistently driving toward practical, actionable results.
Robert Foye:
Commercial & Marketing Director The Coca-Cola Company / Global CEO Accolade Wines
Steve has a deep understanding of China and a wealth of experience in advertising and campaigns.
He led some of Coca-Cola China’s biggest and most successful national campaigns, working closely with our commercial teams, bottlers, and agency partners. Steve was always great to work with.
'Ma Yan' Sheung Yan Lo:
Chairman & Chief Creative Officer JWT China
Love to work with a Planner who doesn’t only offer business insights to clients’ challenges but a strategic direction that inspires creativity to develop business solutions.
Another very important criteria is that he/she can work and walk as a team, from brainstorming to create to review to present. And I have to share with you that Stephen is the rarest Planner I could have the privilege to work with in my advertising career.
Guy Winston:
Executive Creative Director Lowe Sydney / China
The great thing about working with Steve was that it was like I had another creative partner, but one who constantly came up with amazing strategic insights.
He ‘gets it’, loves ideas and champions great creative work.
Prof. Donald Lancaster:
University of Exeter Business School
Stephen is a regular contributor to the Exeter MBA programme as a guest lecturer. Over the years his cross-cultural insights, professional expertise, and brand knowledge has provided popular while helping our students understand some more nuanced Chinese cultural issues.
His work and explanations on Distinctive Brand Assets have been an important part of student learning in brand management.
Vera Bi Training Director:
FBIF (Food and Beverage Innovation Forum)
Stephen developed and ran a 2 day intensive workshop for us with 40 senior people from different companies attending.
The ‘Brand Strategy Bootcamp’ received extremely positive reviews for content, delivery and engagement. ‘Rich new content with relevant cases that were practical and actionable’ were frequently noted benefits. I’m happy to recommend.
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