Founded in 1862 in Switzerland’s Jura Mountains, watchmaker CYMA is positioning itself for an accelerated expansion in China. Already owning more than 130 sales counters in first- and second-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Shenyang, CYMA is now looking to expand into more second- and third-tier cities.

To help launch this initiative, CYMA appointed famous Chinese film actor Liu Ye as its new brand ambassador and introduced their new Chinese slogan, “In time, you will know” at an event in Shanghai in June. Ketchum took charge of PR strategy development, media outreach and event management.

Around 140 reporters and photographers from more than 100 media outlets attended the event. Journalists took part in a live Sina microblog show as well as group and one-on-one interviews with Liu Ye and CYMA executives. These activities generated around 200 clippings for the watch brand. After the press event a gala dinner was held for CYMA dealers nationwide which welcomed a further 140 guests to rub shoulders with CYMA’s latest brand ambassador.