According to our sources, Mediahub, the media buying wing of newly-formed Mullen Lowe Group, has won the Royal Caribbean review.
Back in February, we discovered that the cruise line–like so many clients undergoing leadership changes–wanted to shake up its agency roster and refresh its brand with a creative review that marked a break with global AOR JWT.
Over the next three months, we learned that Mullen would compete against Deutsch NY, Droga5 and 22squared for the business. 22 and Mullen were the final contestants, and the latter won the account only a week after its merger with Lowe.
The media review followed, beginning approximately one month ago. Sources told Adweek that the three competitors would be incumbent Mindshare (WPP), Media Storm and IPG’s Mediahub. They estimated that the decision would come down in early June.
The act of assigning both its media and creative accounts to Mullen Lowe Group makes perfect sense for Royal Caribbean, which follows other large clients in simplifying its marketing operations by “bundling” agency relationships under one (rhetorical) roof.
The client has not yet responded to multiple queries regarding its media business; spokespeople also declined to comment on the initial review until our story went live.
Royal Caribbean spends approximately $80 million on media each year.
