Core – RSVP
The Australian dating site RSVP has appointed advertising agency Core as its agency of record following a three-way competitive creative pitch. Despite increased competition from free and paid services, more than half of Australians dating online use the locally-owned site, with over 1,200 new members signing up every day. The independent Sydney-based agency was tasked to work on an acquisition and brand campaign, which is set to run across both free and subscription television, plus digital and activation channels. Core is one of the fastest growing independent creative agencies in Australia, with an expanding team, a recent move to larger premises in Sydney’s Surry Hills and new clients including QBE and Sydney Airport.
Australian dating site RSVP has appointed advertising agency Core as its agency of record
Lara Delahunty, senior marketing manager at RSVP said: “The online dating category is evolving fast and we were looking for an agency that can help RSVP continue to grow. Through their strategic and creative thinking Core demonstrated that they will make a great commercial partner.” Christian Finucane, founder and creative partner at Core, added: “The online dating market is competitive with a mix of paid and free services all vying to attract singles. It’s testament to RSVP that after 18 years, the brand remains the most trusted of them all.”
Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners – The Honest Kitchen
Red Tettemer O'Connell + Partners (RTO+P) this week announced that it has been awarded the business for The Honest Kitchen, a natural pet food company that produces a line of human-grade whole foods for dogs and cats. The win, which followed a review, will be serviced out of RTO+P’s rapidly growing West Coast office, based in Santa Monica. The private, family-owned company was founded by British ex-pats Lucy & Charlie Postins in 2002, and is based in San Diego, CA. All of The Honest Kitchen products are 100% FDA human grade and made in a human food facility for the highest possible quality standards. The Honest Kitchen uses dehydration as a gentle technique that removes only the moisture and retains most natural nutrients found in raw, whole foods and includes recipes made from chicken, turkey, duck, fish and beef.
RTO+P has been awarded the business for The Honest Kitchen
“We are excited for this partnership because we're impressed with The Honest Kitchen approach,” said Steve Red, President and Chief Creative Officer of RTO+P. “The team at THK put their hearts and souls into making pet food of uncompromising standards. There is arguably no better brand to be working alongside within this 21 billion-a-year industry.” Mike Steck, Chief Marketing Officer of The Honest Company, added: “We are thrilled to be working with RTO+P. They showed a deep understanding of our business and offered creative solutions that went above and beyond our expectations. We look forward seeing their ideas come to life for our brand.”
BBDO Atlanta/OMD – Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Cruise Line has confirmed that it has named BBDO and OMD to be its creative and media agency partners, respectively. The decision was made following a competitive review. The account had previously been handled by The Martin Agency. The business will now be led out of BBDO Atlanta and OMD Midwest. BBDO will be responsible for providing creative and strategic leadership and development of a multimedia advertising campaign. OMD will be responsible for media planning and buying across all media channels.
NCL has named BBDO and OMD to be its creative and media agency partners
“Norwegian Cruise Line and the cruise industry are on an uptick and we are looking to capitalise on this business momentum,” said Meg Lee, VP and Chief Marketing Officer at NCL. “We initiated this review with the goal to identify the best agency partners to help take Norwegian to the next level and accelerate the global expansion of the brand and our unique Freestyle Cruising proposition. In BBDO and OMD, we have found two agencies with proven track records of success with high involvement brands.” Drew Panayiotou, President & CEO of BBDO Atlanta, added: “We look forward to applying our brand expertise and nimble cross-channel content creation model in cruising and retail to help Norwegian Cruise Line increase its market share. Norwegian Cruise Line is an innovator in its field. Our goal is to help potential cruisers discover the revolutionary experiences that Norwegian brings to its cruise travel.”
KHWS – ASK Italian
KHWS announced this week that it has won the retained digital brief for the restaurant chain ASK Italian. Having won the retained brief as part of a four-way, competitive pitch, KHWS will cover ASK Italian’s website maintenance and development, creative additions and SEO. The brief will see KHWS roll out several additions to the website, due to launch this summer, adding new content and promotions as ASK Italian’s offering grows. The overall aim of the digital campaign is to increase online booking conversions which KHWS will target through SEO, conversion rate optimisation and intelligent site design.
KHWS has won the retained digital brief for the restaurant chain ASK Italian
Corinne Prior, Marketing Director, ASK Italian, said: “As part of ASK Italian’s continued evolution as a brand, we’ve seen not only how important digital is at cementing our brand identity, but also as a channel to our customers, and how much our customers respond to and interact with our digital efforts.” Andrew Watts, Founding Director at KHWS, added: “KHWS have a rich heritage in the hospitality and leisure sector and we are very excited to be working with ASK Italian to help them achieve their growth plans using our digital expertise to make their web site both a great user experience and an enhanced source of bookings.”
Y&R – The US Navy
Y&R has has been named Agency of Record for the United States Navy. Effective July 20, Y&R will lead an elite group of agency teams handling advertising across all channels including digital and mobile platforms, account and media planning, research, public relations and events. According to the Department of Defence announcement, the U.S. Navy contract is valued at $84.4 million for a one-year fixed-price. The contract also comes with four one-year, optional extensions that could bring the total value of the award to $457.4 million by the contract's 2020 expiration date, if all options are exercised.
Y&R has has been named Agency of Record for the United States Navy
“Y&R has just been recruited, and we are reporting for service. From this moment on, we make the Navy’s mission our mission and are committed to helping them recruit the best, talented minds into service of our country,” said David Sable, Global CEO at Y&R. “We are now entrusted with one of our country’s most important government assignments. This is a chance to not only do good work, but also to do good in the world.”
