SINGAPORE: The Four Seasons, which has 13 hotels in Asia-Pacific,
has appointed Lowe Lintas & Partners (LL&P) and Enterprise IG to its
regional advertising and design/direct marketing accounts
respectively.
LL&P pitched against Ogilvy & Mather and M&C Saatchi, the incumbent on
the ad account. Mahita Geekie, the hotel chain's manager of corporate
communications, said M&C had little chance of staying on because it
works for Hong Kong's Mandarin Oriental Hotel, representing a conflict
as Four Seasons plans to open a property in the city next year. She said
even though the chain was happy with M&C, it became apparent it was
unwilling to stop working on the other hotel.
Enterprise IG pitched against FutureBrand for the below-the-line
account, which Batey Ads resigned early last month.
Geekie and Susan Helstab, the hotel group's senior vice-president
corporate marketing, had to make a quick decision because the company is
launching a campaign early next year to promote a new hotel in
Shanghai.
"When Batey Ads told us they were resigning our account, it threw
everything off because we were just about to brief them to do work on
this campaign," said Geekie.
Agencies were briefed on October 17 and had to present on October
26.
Work for the chain mostly involves adapting creative work from the
US.
Media will continue to be bought through Starcom in the US although
individual hotels may book some of their own ads through LL&P's shop
Initiative Media.
