Celcom Axiata in the midst of creative pitch

Celcom Axiata is in the midst of a creative pitch, and A+M understands that this is part of the telco’s effort to search for strategic long-term partners that are knowledgeable about the dynamic of its brands and industry to further grow the brands and business. The incumbent on the account is M&C Saatchi, which is responsible for ads such as GUNA CELCOM, Adik Beradik and the popular 5 Sekawan series. Celcom declined to comment on A+M‘s queries.This pitch is running concurrently with U Mobile’s creative pitch for its prepaid segment, and comes as Maxis recently named Publicis Groupe to manage integrated marketing duties. Meanwhile, TM is also in the midst of its pitches for creative, media and big data.Celcom’s “GUNA CELCOM” campaign earlier this year featured a series of short films promoting its network’s online streaming, voice calls, and online shopping capabilities. According to Celcom, its geo-targeted ads garnered 1.9 million video views with a view-through-rate of over 45%. Its marketing team also witnessed the exit of former head of brand marketing Grace Chan, who left to join TIME dotCom as marketing head.Meanwhile, Celcom is doubling down its efforts in the 5G space. Last month, telco deployed Malaysia’s first 5G Live Cluster Field Trial at its headquarters @celcom, and within the surrounding areas of Petaling Jaya Sentral. The objective of the six-month trial is to test and observe the use cases and behaviour of 5G coverage within real-life environments. It also partnered with Huawei Technologies Malaysia to deploy its 5G Innovation Hub at @celcom, creating an opportunity for business partners technology developers, academia and industry players to experience the agile deployment of new 5G verticals and 5G use cases.