Royal Caribbean
Norwegian cruise line brand Royal Caribbean International is thought to be reviewing its global creative agency business, with a decision expected to arrive by May. JWT, the incumbent agency, is expected to defend their title in the review, which is in its early stages according to sources. Media, which is currently handled by the agency's WPP corporate sibling, Mindshare, is not part of the search process. The company is the world's biggest cruise line, having spent $58 million in measured media last year and invested a total of $81 million back in 2013! So whatever agency picks up the business will undoubtedly be thrilled to do so! Specific reasons for the review are unclear, though it has gone through some major managerial changes recently, which saw Michael Bayley, chief of sister company Celebrity Cruises, take over as CEO in December last year. Marketing SVP Carol Schuster also departed the company recently, and as of the time of writing, that role remains open to potential suitors.
Royal Caribbean International is thought to be reviewing its global creative agency business
JWT, who have thus far declined to comment on the news, has led creative on Royal Caribbean since 2007 when it won the account against such heavy-hitters as Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA\Chiat\Day and what was then Draftfcb. At that time, Arnold was the incumbent agency and sister Havas shop MPG handled Royal Caribbean media, which also shifted at that time. Recent disasters such as the Costa Concordia crash in 2012 and the Carnival Triumph disaster last year, have taken a heavy toll on the cruising industry of late. Royal Caribbean, however, has been largely free of major misfortune, save for an outbreak of norovirus on one of their vessels in 2013.
General Mills
The General Mills food company is poised to appoint Grey London as its lead creative agency in the UK, with the account believed to be worth approximately £11 million in marketing spend. As part of the agreement, the agency will also be handling some work for the Häagen-Dazs and Old El Paso brands, which are handles by Saatchi & Saatchi in the US, and BBH overseas respectively. In a competitive pitch, Grey pitched against HeyHuman in the final stages, and PrettyGreen was involved earlier on in the process. The review, which began in November last year and involved Oystercatchers, was led by GM's global marketing and managing director, Jennifer Jorgensen, and was implemented because the company wishes to reduce the number of agencies on its roster, in order to make their creative output more cohesive and more efficient. This might be a good idea considering the company currently works with around 20 agencies. It appointed Karmarama for Jus-Rol and Betty Crocker in February last year and McCann London worked on Nature Valley, whilst Saatchi has handled some activation work in the past.
Volvo North America
Cake New York announced this week that Volvo Cars of North America has named it as social agency of record for the brand, which underlines Volvo’s commitment to embracing new methods of storytelling and connection using social media. The appointment continues a multi-year relationship between the automotive firm and Cake New York, with the agency's work thus far for the brand including consulting, strategic development, and the creation of the Digiday Award-winning program “Volvo Joyride.” Presented through a series of narratives and short films, the Volvo Joyrides saw figures from the worlds of food, design and fashion telling stories about how they got where they are today, what the concept of a Joyride means to them and why they choose to drive Volvo vehicles.
Cake New York announced this week that Volvo Cars of North America has named it as social agency of record
Volvo Cars of North America vice president of corporate communications Dean Shaw, is thrilled to further evolve the company's “Relationship with Cake New York during this exciting time in Volvo’s history.” He adds that “Social media is an integral part” of their communication plan, and he feels that “Cake New York truly understands how to effectively navigate this space.” Jenna Fidellow, general manager at Cake New York, meanwhile, is “Excited to take the incredible Volvo Cars brand and extend it to new audiences and new narratives leveraging social media,” whilst head of social innovation Stacey Fuller, is “Looking forward to further activating Cake’s unique approach to creativity, content and social storytelling” to see what the two companies can build together. Adrian Pettett, CEO of the London-based Cake Group, adds that “Cake has enjoyed working with Volvo in the US for more than 5 years,” and believes that “The continued evolution” of their relationship is a “Reflection of the evolution of social media engagement programs and the importance of influencers in building deep connections with their customers.”
Findmypast
This week, the Findmypast genealogy service appointed CHI&Partners to handle its UK advertising as it looks to grow its profile throughout 2015. The appointment follows a slew of project-based work carries out by the agency last year, which included radio, TV, online and DM spots. The brand, which lets users trace their family history online, has tasked the agency with developing a creative strategy to match their media planning and buying agency m/SIX’s smart distribution strategy. CHI&Partners and m/SIX, which are both partners in The&Partnership, will work together to develop targeted campaigns with unique creative, educating audiences about the familial revelations the site can potentially offer. The site was the first of its kind to make the complete birth, marriage and death indexes for England and Wales available online, and as a result, was granted the Queen’s Award for Innovation in 2007.
The Findmypast genealogy service has appointed CHI&Partners to handle its UK advertising
Matt Bushby, marketing director at Findmypast, said they are delighted to formalise their relationship with CHI&Partners, “Who have already created some exceptional work” for the brand. He “Looks forward to building on that work in 2015,” as they continue to grow our audience “Both in the UK and in key international markets.” Sarah Golding, CEO at CHI&Partners, adds that “Findmypast is a unique brand with a fascinating story to tell.” and that the agency is “Excited to help them tell that story in a fittingly extraordinary way by creating an advertising strategy that will really stand out from the crowd.”
