WPP : First ever Mongolian study for brand success in changing consumer landscape

WPP & Y&R Mongolia unveil BrandZ's first ever 'Spotlight on Mongolia'
ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA
- WPP and Y&R Mongolia today released BrandZ's first ever Spotlight on Mongolia report, exploring insights into the country's unique and progressive business environment. It also offers valuable advice for brands looking to make their mark with Mongolian consumers.

Mongolia's rapid transformation in the past decade, largely driven by a mining boom, has resulted in huge leaps in technology, brand consumption and the media landscape. Key factors affecting marketing and brands include the rapid penetration of mobile technology, with 4G LTE connectivity introduced in 2016.

'Mongolian consumers and the businesses that cater to them are hurdling stages of development that took years to pass in other markets; they are bypassing bank branches in favor of smart phone apps, and many emerging local brands are putting their advertising spend straight into social media,' said David Roth, CEO at The Store, EMEA and Asia.

The report highlights 10 key factors for brands looking to establish themselves in Mongolia, including:

• Inform and inspire. Consumers are looking for emotional connection with brands. Mongolians are well-travelled and have been exposed to brands not yet officially launched in-market.
• Expect contradictions. Mongolia is different from other Asian or Central European markets. A largely Buddhist population with a strong Russian influence, consumers are diverse and live with seemingly contradictory values. While consumers have traditionally looked West for inspiration, national pride is causing growing interest in quality, locally-made products.
• Technology is on the rise. In Ulan Bataar, technological infrastructure is on par with many developed nations. 'Leap-frogging' is prevalent in certain sectors, straight to mobile internet over laptop or desktop, internet banking is rolling out fast and e-payment is commonplace.
• TV still dominates as an advertising mass-medium, but online and social are growing rapidly and remain a largely untapped opportunity for marketers. Facebook dominates social media.
• Consumers are keen to try new things, which is great in the short term but can make building long-term loyalty problematic.

'BrandZ's first country spotlight on Mongolia identifies the challenges of building a strong brand in this unique and rapidly-developing market, and has been developed to provide essential insights into Mongolians and their worldview, not only for international brands looking to enter Mongolia but also brands currently operating in Mongolia,' emphasized Tuul Purevsuren, Managing Director of Y&R Mongolia.

Download the full report here, contact at Y&R Mongolia: Alimaa.Ts@yr.com +976 7011 1357.

Regional media contact: Y&R Asia's magz.osborne@yr.com +65 9029 9271

BrandZ is the world's largest brand equity database. BrandZ's thought leadership series focus on providing valuable insights for businesses and brands. Please visit www.wppbaz.com for more information.

About Y&R Mongolia
Y&R Mongolia is a part of Young & Rubicam advertising group and Mongolia's first international agency since 2014. The team is celebrating their 10th anniversary of entering the research & advertising field this year.

For more details, please visit www.yrmongolia.mn

About Y&R
Y&R is one of the leading global marketing communications companies. It is made up of the iconic Y&R Advertising agency; VML, one of the most highly regarded and fastest-growing digital agencies in the world, and iconmobile, one of the premier mobile marketing companies.

Y&R's largest agency, Y&R Advertising, has 188 offices in 92 countries around the world, with clients that include, Campbell's Soup Company, Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, Virgin Atlantic, Xerox, GAP, Land Rover, and Telefonica, among many others.

Y&R is part of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY). Please visit www.yr.com for more information.

About TNS
TNS advises clients on specific growth strategies around new market entry, innovation, brand switching and customer and employee relationships, based on long-established expertise and market-leading solutions. With a presence in over 80 countries, TNS has more conversations with the world's consumers than anyone else and understands individual human behaviours and attitudes across every cultural, economic and political region of the world.

TNS is part of Kantar, the data investment management division of WPP and one of the world's largest insight, information and consultancy groups. Please visit www.tnsglobal.com for more information.

NOTES TO EDITORS

BrandZ™ Spotlight on Mongolia is part of the suite of BrandZ rankings which also includes the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands, the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indonesian brands, the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Latin American Brands and the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Indian Brands.

Background and methodology

The BrandZ rankings are the only valuations in the world that take into account what people think about the brands they buy, alongside rigorous analysis of financial data, market valuations, analyst reports and risk profiles. Consumer perception of a brand is a key input in determining brand value, because brands are a combination of business performance, product delivery, clarity of positioning and leadership.

About WPP
WPP is the world's largest communications services group with billings of US$73 billion and revenues of US$19 billion. Through its operating companies, the Group provides a comprehensive range of advertising and marketing services including advertising & media investment management; data investment management; public relations & public affairs; branding & identity; healthcare communications; direct, digital, promotion & relationship marketing and specialist communications. The company employs over 200,000 people (including associates and investments) in over 3,000 offices across 113 countries. For more information, visit www.wpp.com. WPP was named Holding Company of the Year at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for the sixth year running. WPP was also named, for the fifth consecutive year, the World's Most Effective Holding Company in the 2016 Effie Effectiveness Index, which recognizes the effectiveness of marketing communications. In 2016 WPP was recognised by Warc 100 as the World's Top Holding Company (second year running).