CIA nets $20m Six Continents work

HONG KONG: Six Continents Hotels, formerly known as Bass Hotels and Resorts, is believed to have appointed media agency CIA as its strategic marketing communications partner, according to sources in the communications and travel industries. The group, with hotel brands such as Inter-Continental, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Parkroyal and Centra, is also said to be close to appointing a lead creative agency. The entire account is estimated to be worth about US$20 million annually. The decision to appoint CIA follows a full review of the marketing communications activities of the different brands operated by Six Continents,which included group corporate programmes and campaigns for individual hotel chains, according to travel industry sources. Bass was renamed as Six Continents after its recent acquisition of the Inter-Continental brand. The hotel group previously used a roster of different media agencies, including CIA. This is also the case with the creative account, which is currently split among Grey Worldwide, Bamboo and FCB. The appointment of CIA as the lead communications agency is seen as significant because Six Continents is among a small, but growing, number of prominent brands globally to entrust the central and complex strategic component of its marketing communications responsibilities to a specialist and not a traditional agency set-up. Recently, beverage company Allied Domecq also deviated from the norm by entrusting its strategic brief to direct agency 141 over an advertising agency. It is understood that the Six Continents account will be managed by CIA Hong Kong, which will also be performing media planning and buying functions. See leader - p19.

Sign In

Trouble signing in?

Reset Password: Click here

Contact Customer Support at

Customerservice@campaignasia.com