BY DAVID RANII - STAFF WRITER
Raleigh-based French/West/Vaughan intends to announce today that it has been tapped to handle worldwide marketing needs for 1800hotels.com.

The Dublin, Ireland-based company, which offers discount hotel rates online, plans to spend about $11 million over the next 12 months on marketing, with the biggest piece going toward advertising, said Rick French, French/West’s founder and CEO. The agency also will provide public relations and other services as 1800hotels’ agency of record.

“We are charting the strategy for them worldwide,” said French. “It is a big piece of business for us.”

1800hotels is the No. 1 Web site for hotel bookings in the United Kingdom but didn’t enter the U.S. market until about a year ago. U.S. sales “are literally doubling on a month-to-month basis,” French said.

French said 1800hotels is one of the two largest advertising clients for the 70-person agency, which is best-known for its public relations work.

The agency recently hired three new employees to handle the extra advertising work from 1800hotels and other new clients, including local Moe’s Southwest Grill franchises. It also expects to make three more hires soon, French said.

1800hotels’ competitors include sites such as Travelocity and Orbitz, although those sites also offer flights, rental cars and other services for travelers.

Travelocity’s ad agency is Durham-based McKinney, by far the largest ad agency in the Triangle.

“It will be a friendly rivalry,” said French. “We have great admiration for McKinney as an agency.”

French/West generated $12 million in revenue last year, down 9 percent compared to 2008 as a result of the recession, according to the agency. French said business has picked up significantly in the last three months.

February 15, 2010

Florida’s ‘Awaken’ tourism campaign: Bland brand or big boost for struggling economy?

Wake up and good morning. Florida’s counting big time on its tourism industry to help lead the struggling Sunshine State out of its worst economic downturn in decades. Visit Florida, the state’s tourism promotion agency, just responded with a new branding/advertising message that, to me, comes across as a bland brand. But I have not seen the full promotions package and there may be more than initially meets the eye.

The new brand? Awaken Your Florida Side. The campaign was created for Visit Florida by their new advertising agency of record, DDB Miami, with consultation from The Hester Group, The Rodriguez Group, and Miles Media – VISIT FLORIDA’s African-American, Hispanic/Latin American, and multi-media agencies. Here’s what Susannah Costello, Visit Florida’s brand director, says of Awaken Your Florida Side:

“We all have a Florida side. It’s the part of us that longs for sandy beaches, romantic sunsets, and time in the sun with people we care about. It’s the great feeling we experience on a Florida vacation and take back home – or just dream of.”

Given this winter’s unforgiving accumulation of snow up north, you’d think Florida need only make rabid barking noises to get Americans to come to the Sunshine State. So we’ll see if there is any measurable gain in Visit Florida’s new ad campaign. Awaken Your Florida Side replaces a 2007 campaign called Shine. It was Florida’s first national television advertising campaign, emphasizing the glow that visitors get from visiting Florida and being in the sun with family and friends.

The new Awaken campaign plays to the repeat Florida tourist. Here’s more details on it from Visit Florida. Says Will Seccombe, Visit Florida’s chief marketing officer:

“We know that 94 percent of our visitors have been to the state before and that Florida enjoys tremendous brand loyalty, so our job is to simply awaken the emotions from past visits to the Sunshine State.”

The former Florida Department of Commerce will never live down the infamous, 1980s’ campaign: Florida, the rules are different here. The slogan appeared at a time when South Florida faced strong criticism and a tourism backlash for its lawlessness spawned by drug gangs.

Frankly, the biggest marketing burst that will spark Florida tourism will probably be the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction at Universal Orlando this spring. The theme park is a bit fuzzy so far on how much marketing it will pursue globally and nationally, or whether it will focus more on trying to get tourists already in Orlando to divert their itineraries to the Potter show.

Either way, there’s plenty of Potter buzz and will be sure to help boost Florida tourism numbers in 2010.

– Robert Trigaux, Times Business Columnist

Posted by Times Editor at 07:36:29 AM on February 15, 2010

Ad Agency of Record for The Melting Pot

Dunn&Co. Continues As Ad Agency of Record for The Melting Pot

by admin

By: Via Adweek, New York
Published: 11 hours 31 min ago
Global - Consumer-goods giant Reckitt Benckiser has consolidated its US$1.3 billion global media account with Havas Media and Publicis Groupe’s ZenithOptimedia, the client has confirmed.

Both organizations were already on the client’s roster.

The review included both digital and traditional media and kicked off in May.

Client brands include Woolite, Lysol, Lemsip, Nurofen, Dettol and Vanish, the client has confirmed.

In the U.S., Havas’ MPG holds the account. Reckitt spent slightly more than $500 million on ads in the U.S. in 2008, up 20 percent from 2007, according to Nielsen. It was not immediately clear how that assignment would shake out.

Omnicom Media Group, which also handled some Reckitt assignments, and WPP participated in the pitch, the client confirmed.

Rakesh Kapoor, the client’s evp, category development, said in a statement, “Consumer media habits are evolving all the time and in the current economic conditions we need to think radically. Our new approach to media buying and planning introduces game-changing strategies in every aspect of how we communicate with our customers if we want to continue our track record of superior performance.”

The client said the consolidation would bring economies of scale and further improve consistency in media strategies and implementation across countries.

Kapoor added: “We have chosen two global media partners that will bring us new consumer insights, better capabilities in technology and systems and superior skills in ensuring that we build better consumer engagement strategies and executions.”

The client managed the process internally.

CHICAGO, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ — Crown Imports announced that it has awarded Horizon Media all media planning and buying business across the company’s entire portfolio, including Corona Extra and Modelo Especial. The business, which excludes out of home media, will be managed out of Horizon’s Los Angeles office.

Beginning this month, Horizon Media will partner with Crown as Agency of Record for media to help maximize brand awareness, consideration and purchase intent for the entire Crown portfolio, which includes Corona Extra, the number one imported beer, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo, Pacifico, St. Pauli Girl and Tsingtao.

“Crown’s well positioned portfolio, led by Corona, already benefits from having unique and memorable ad campaigns, and we look forward to leveraging Horizon’s impressive media planning and buying experience to maximize the delivery of our brand messages to our targeted consumers across a wide variety of platforms,” said Jim Sabia, executive vice president of marketing for Crown Imports. “We were impressed by Horizon’s strong category experience and collaborative approach to media planning and buying across national and local media channels for the General and Hispanic Market.”

Horizon will begin working with Crown this month to plan and execute media buying efforts for the 2010 calendar year. “We are extremely motivated to help take Corona, and the entire Crown portfolio, to the next level. The media landscape today provides great opportunity for innovation and creativity in the planning process and we look forward to putting all of Horizon’s assets to work in achieving the goals for Corona and the entire Crown portfolio,” said Bill Koenigsberg, president, CEO and founder Horizon Media Inc.

“We are thrilled to be working with a brand that has an incredibly strong heritage,” added Zach Rosenberg, EVP and general manager, Horizon Media, Inc. “We look forward to leveraging Horizon’s creativity and innovation to help raise the bar even higher.”

About Crown Imports

Crown Imports LLC is a joint venture that imports, distributes and markets the Modelo portfolio and other fine beer brands across the entire U.S. The Modelo portfolio includes Corona Extra, the #1 imported beer in the U.S. and #6 beer overall, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo and Pacifico beer brands. Crown also imports the St. Pauli Girl and Tsingtao beer brands in the U.S. Crown is a 50-50 joint venture between Grupo Modelo, S.A. de C.V. (MX: GMODELOC), Mexico’s leading company in the brewing, distribution and sale of beer, and Constellation Brands, Inc. ( STZ, ASX: CBR), a leading international beverage alcohol producer, importer and marketer. For more information, visit www.crownimportsllc.com.

About Horizon Media

Founded in 1989, Horizon Media, Inc. is the largest U.S. independent media services company. Horizon’s core mission, “To create the most meaningful brand connections within the lives of people everywhere,” is focused on helping clients sell products and build brands through insightful marketing counsel, and delivered through effective negotiation and placement. Horizon’s holistic approach to brand marketing and development has resulted in estimated billings of $2 billion and established the company as the fastest growing agency in the industry. Headquartered in New York City with a full service office in Los Angeles, Horizon also has offices in San Diego, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Horizon is also a founding member of Columbus Media International, a multi-national partnership of independent media agencies. For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.horizonmedia.com.

SOURCE Crown Imports

They Understand the Technology, the Speed of Iteration and Analytics
posted by Jacques-Herve Roubert on 11.12.09 @ 10:14 AM

Jacques-Herve Roubert
Over the past 18 months, a great debate has consumed our industry: Are digital agencies poised to sit at the head of the advertising table? Depending on whom you ask and what you read, the answer seems to flip flop — with a majority of people still having reservations and making claims that digital agencies aren’t ready to lead.

So why does the debate continue? Does offline or online really matter to an oblivious consumer who’s only interested in “no-line” communications? Are we spending too much time focusing on who should lead and not enough asking: What’s next?

Ana Andjelic’s DigitalNext post, provocatively titled “Why Digital Agencies Aren’t Ready to Lead,” mentions several reasons why digital agencies aren’t ready to lead, one of which was their lack of experience in the business (as compared with the “decades of experience” that traditional agencies are known for). I’m sure there are instances where decades of experience can directly translate into success, but there are certainly instances (uh, Lehman Brothers?) where deep roots had no bearing on their ability to produce — and produce well. Furthermore, a certain percentage of the individuals now working and thriving in digital agencies came from traditional agencies.

Additionally, most of the world’s most ingenious inventions were not created overnight, but took years of hard work, research, observation, trial and error, and collaboration to fine tune. The digital ecosystem has required much of the same exploration — and, in most cases, into technologies that are new to all of us. As James March himself said, “Exploration involves being an amateur for a while, but only as a step on the way to being a professional.”

And while the structure of an interactive agency may often mimic “one big crazy family” (by the way: Whose family isn’t crazy?), how could making sure everyone’s opinion is heard be a bad thing? Most interactive agencies subscribe to the notion that you never know where the big idea or concept will come from. Sometimes the big idea can come from the exploration of a new technology or method that enhances consumer connection.

Here’s why:

That was then, this is now. Like it or not, the days of the ingenious, 30-second TV spot are over. Today’s creative ingenuity lies within the idea, the technology, the concept, the innovation and, perhaps most important, the Holy Grail: consumer connection. Word of mouth is more prevalent than ever and interactive communities have an increasingly louder and more influential voice and are stronger (and sometimes the only) sources of breaking news stories. No one understands this better — nor is better equipped to handle the swift demands required — than the digital agency.

Teaching an old dog new tricks. The “new trick” is immediacy. It’s about faster response times and the concept of immediacy. E-mail, IM, Twitter, Facebook, cellphones — all of these technologies set the stage for consumers wanting and expecting immediate responses, not to mention, immediate access to products and services. Traditional advertising agencies are not adapting to this mentality because they are still working with processes and organizational structures that were developed in a time when the internet and the concept of immediacy simply did not exist.

Digital agencies understand that brands are being held to higher-than-ever consumer expectations. The plethora of data we can garner from a $50,000 media buy can leave traditional agencies’ heads spinning with insight and analysis. The truth of the matter is: Interactive agencies are forcing traditional agencies to integrate with digital media to better track and measure campaign results through custom URLs, short codes, etc.

Kickin’ it old school. Not only are the days of the 30-second TV spot gone, so too are the traditional advertising agency gurus like David Ogilvy and Bill Bernbach. Today, those figures have been replaced, instead, by financially backed entities. Rather than exploration and exploitation, digital agencies need their own gurus and legends that can lead by example.

Five or 10 years ago, I might agree with the argument that digital agencies weren’t ready to lead, but after sitting at the table with other agencies for the past decade — traditional, branding, public relations, marketing — it’s clear that digital agencies have proven their value, not to mention their ability to innovate, inspire, and create the big idea.

Perhaps the synergy and balance between exploitation and exploration is off kilter for digital agencies, but more and more we’re starting to see the agency structure itself change with new hires in technology and social media. And marketers are noticing:

According to Media magazine, AKQA was named the lead agency for Nike India earlier this year.
Precor named Ascentium its agency of record in October 2009. According to Forrester’s Q2 2009 Interactive Agency Wave, Ascentium “received the highest client satisfaction scores in this year’s review.” The assignment with Precor includes strategic planning and execution of all offline and online campaigns.
McAfee hiring Tribal DDB as its agency of record in 2008. This assignment included all TV, print, outdoor, and digital.

The balance may not be there today, tomorrow or next month. The truth of the matter is digital agencies have earned their right to sit at the head of the table because they’ve brought what consumers and marketers are looking for: new innovations in measurement; flexibility and nimbleness; and, most importantly, ideas that bring what a magazine spread or 30-second TV spot cannot.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Now president-CEO of Nurun, a global interactive marketing agency, Jacques-Hervé Roubert began his career in advertising at Havas Conseil and subsequently held senior executive positions with BDDP and Young & Rubicam.

Tuaca Liqueur has named Boxing Clever its promotional and interactive agency of record for North America, the agency said Monday.

St. Louis-based agency Boxing Clever will provide creative services for promotions, events, and mobile and digital marketing for Tuaca.

Tuaca is made from a combination of Italian brandy, and natural citrus and vanilla flavors. It was introduced in the U.S. in the 1950s and is imported by Brown-Forman Beverages of Louisville, Ky.

Tuaca Italian Liqueur is based in Livorno, Italy.

LVMH’s Premium Vodka Brand to Drop ‘Luxury Reborn’ Campaign, Increase Spending
Posted by Jeremy Mullman on 11.12.09 @ 12:58 PM

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Belvedere Vodka, owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH, is the latest in a growing line of spirits brands to look for a new agency and fresh messaging amid a recession that has jolted the image-obsessed category.

An ad from Berlin Cameron’s ‘Luxury Reborn’ campaign. The premium vodka brand has shifted its creative-advertising account to Arnell Group. The Omnicom Group agency beat out the incumbent, WPP’s Berlin Cameron United, in the final round of a pitch that earlier also included Havas’ Euro RSCG and independent Cossette.

In an interview, Belvedere President Charles Gibbs said the brand would be looking to broaden its appeal.

Berlin Cameron’s campaign, dubbed “Luxury Reborn” and shot by noted fashion photographer Terry Richardson, tried hard to be shocking and polarizing in an effort to cast Belvedere drinkers as edgy upstarts in a stodgy category dominated by Grey Goose. One typical image showed a woman using a man’s belt buckle as a mirror as she applied lipstick.

“That campaign resonated with who it was intended to resonate with,” said Mr. Gibbs, who identified those targets as “lux individualists” and the “downtown creative class.”

Changing priorities
But the “new rich”/”old rich” dynamic, as characterized by downtown hipsters and artists brazenly crashing an uptown soiree, is less effective in a recession that has fewer people feeling rich at all.

“People’s priorities are changing, and you need to establish your new relevance in their lives,” Mr. Gibbs said, adding: “Now we’re going to broaden the audience we’re talking to.”

A broader audience is likely necessary if the brand wants to gain ground on Bacardi-owned category leader Grey Goose. In July, LVMH said that Belvedere neither gained nor lost market share during the first half of the year.

A broader budget might be necessary as well, as a number of brands have ramped up ad spending behind new campaigns in the always hyper-competitive and crowded upscale-vodka category. Those include Ketel One, which embarked on its first-ever TV push this year after being acquired by Diageo, and upstart Effen, which is getting significant investment from Beam Global, which acquired the brand to be its leading vodka entry after losing out in the auction for Absolut, which was acquired instead by Pernod Ricard.

Belvedere cut spending dramatically amid the freefall of 2008 to $5.4 million, but it spent more than $11 million during the year-earlier period, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Mr. Gibbs said the brand would likely boost spending behind the new campaign next year.

The win is a welcome piece of good news for Arnell, which on Monday saw itself removed as digital agency of record for Pepsi’s Sobe brand, and earlier this year suffered a major embarrassment when its pricey redesign of Tropicana’s packaging led to a steep sales decline — and was ultimately dumped by the marketer.

Asked whether Arnell would get a crack at revamping Belvedere’s packaging, Mr. Gibbs offered a quick no.

“This is about a brand platform,” he said, “it is not about packaging at all.”

Euro’s gains
Arnell has significant spirits category experience as the former agency of record for Diageo’s Jose Cuervo tequila brand. It lost that assignment to JWT last summer. “Their work on Cuervo was particularly important,” Mr. Gibbs said. “It means they are grounded in this industry.”

Among the other competing agencies, Euro has successfully expanded its relationship with Beam Global. The agency’s Chicago office handled Effen vodka before Beam acquired it, and it is said to have grabbed additional work on its new client’s Sauza and Hornitos tequila lines, which had previously been handled by Publicis.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Euro had landed agency-of-record duties on the brand, or if it was merely getting a crack at some project work. A half-dozen phone messages to a Beam spokeswoman seeking comment on the shift were not returned.

~ ~ ~
Rupal Parekh contributed to this report.

Dallas-based TracyLocke hired to market PureVia

08:32 AM CST on Thursday, November 12, 2009
By KAREN ROBINSON-JACOBS / The Dallas Morning News
krobinson@dallasnews

TracyLocke said Wednesday it’s now the advertising and media agency of record for PureVia, a zero-calorie sweetener. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Dallas-based agency is charged with developing a media strategy for the new sweetner.

PureVia is made by Whole Earth Sweetener Co., a subsidiary of Chicago-based Merisant Co., which makes the Equal artificial sweetener. Whole Earth Sweetener and PepsiCo jointly own and market PureVia.

VOLKSWAGEN APPOINTS DEUTSCH LA AS ADVERTISING AGENCY OF RECORD IN U.S.
Posted 23rd October, 2009 in Volkswagen | Leave a comment

HERNDON, Va., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ — Volkswagen of America, Inc. announced today that it has selected Deutsch LA as its new advertising agency of record for the U.S. In this capacity, Deutsch LA will have full advertising responsibility for the Volkswagen brand and its family of products. Effective November 1, 2009, Deutsch LA replaces Crispin Porter + Bogusky of Miami, which has served as agency of record since 2005.

“Deutsch LA proved they have a firm grasp on how to manage the complex challenges we face in achieving our significant growth objectives,” said Tim Ellis, Vice President of Marketing, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “Of equal importance, they inspired us with a big, compelling, creative idea that will energize and motivate our passionate base as well as attract a broader group of people who have thus far not considered Volkswagen as a relevant choice.”

“Volkswagen probably has the best fifty-year portfolio of advertising that exists. And as far as the other agencies in the review, we felt like we were up against Mount Rushmore,” said Eric Hirshberg, Co-CEO/Chief Creative Officer of Deutsch LA. “The fact that they chose us to carry on this legacy is simply humbling.”

“We haven’t gotten a lot of sleep in the last two months,” said Mike Sheldon, Co-CEO of Deutsch LA. “Everyone here stepped up because we all knew that opportunities like this come around once in a career–if you’re lucky.”

Deutsch LA demonstrates world-class expertise in both strategy and creative and will be Volkswagen of America’s partner in helping achieve its goal of becoming a volume brand in the U.S. As agency of record, Deutsch will be responsible for all national and retail advertising, including digital and experiential marketing.

For more about Volkswagen, please visit www.media.vw.com.

About Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Golf, GTI, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Eos, Passat, Passat Wagon, CC, Tiguan, Touareg and Routan through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. All 2010 Volkswagens come standard-equipped with Electronic Stabilization Program. This is important because the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called ESC the most effective new vehicle safety technology since the safety belt. Visit Volkswagen of America online at www.vw.com or www.media.vw.com to learn more.

About Deutsch LA

Deutsch LA (www.deutschinc.com) is a multi-disciplinary marketing communications agency known for its ability to drive business results for clients. Deutsch crafts a best-in-class array of marketing programs, including advertising, direct marketing, interactive, media planning and buying, design, public relations, promotions, events and branded entertainment. Deutsch LA clients include Directv, PlayStation, Dr Pepper and Snapple among others.

[Source: Volkswagen of America, Inc]