Sid Lee better get ready for the beach life. The agency has been selected as the agency of record for Club Med in North America.
The appointment, announced Feb. 27, follows a formal review of 10 agencies, including five from the U.S. and five from Quebec. The agency was selected as AOR for a two-year period, during which it will provide strategic direction for the company and oversee its creative.
The two-round RFP began last July and included both strategy and spec work. Club Med’s selection was based partially on the emotional angle Sid Lee took during the first round. According to Julie Provençal, partner at Sid Lee and vice-president of accounts and global client integration, the agency’s pitch was driven by an insight on how parents feel when they choose a vacation destination.
In a release, Sabrina Cendral, vice-president of marketing and digital for Club Med North America, said, “Throughout the pitch process, we were looking for an agency that demonstrated creativity and a deep understanding of the brand, but would be able to deliver a results-based campaign. Sid Lee has shown itself capable of doing so.”
In the past, Club Med had used separate agencies for strategy and “big ideas” and was looking to consolidate the account. It also decided to award all of North America to Sid Lee, while it was previously split between Canada and the U.S.
Sid Lee Montreal will handle the account, with help from its New York and Toronto offices. While it will lead strategy and creative, Club Med will continue to use a mix of other agencies for production and media.
The agency started working on the account in January and will be the lead on the four campaigns Club Med does each year during high sales periods. This month the brand will launch its first campaign by Sid Lee, for Club Med Creactive, the brand’s new partnership with Cirque du Soleil. The partnership will see the two companies build out an “experiential circus-inspired playground” at Club Med’s resort in Punta Cana, which opens this summer. The venture will involve guests taking part in artistic to acrobatic activities and will be included in vacation packages.
While Cirque du Soleil is a longtime client of Sid Lee and has invested financially in the agency, Provençal said the partnership was not a part of the pitch process. She said Club Med Creactive has been in the works for some time and that her team was not aware of the venture during the pitch process. However, she said the familiarity the agency has with Cirque du Soleil will benefit it in working on Creactive. Once Sid Lee started on the account, the campaign for Creactive was the agency’s first major brief.
