MEC will be the lead media planning and buying agency for all of Marriott’s brands worldwide including Marriott Hotels and Resorts, The Ritz-Carlton and Marriott Rewards.  Pending signed contract, MEC will officially begin work effective November 1, 2011. 

 

In making the announcement, Susan Thronson, SVP Global Marketing said “Both finalist agency teams did an outstanding job during the process. Our decision came down to our confidence in the quality of the team, insights on our brands and caliber of their global organization. We believe MEC is the best fit for us.”  

 

"We're absolutely delighted to have been selected to work with the Marriott

 

family of brands,” says Charles Courtier, CEO Global, of MEC. “This pitch involved an exhaustive analysis of our network capability, our operating principles and the depth and breadth of our most valuable assets - our people. I am proud of our teams right across the world and we can't wait to get to work with our new client partners." 

 

In July, Marriott placed the majority of the media account in review. The incumbent agencies handling the majority of these duties, Carat (US), Starcom (Latin America), ZenithOptimedia (Asia Pacific) and MEC on a project basis (EMEA), were invited to participate. The review was narrowed to MEC and ZenithOptimedia.  

 

 

Lead creative agencies, mcgarrybowen and Team One, as well as paid search marketing handled by Publicis, were not affected by the review, nor were the agreements with specialized agencies globally. 

 

Marriott International retained the services of Joanne Davis Consulting, Inc., New York, NY, to assist in the agency review process.