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.
