2 Cruise Lines Launch Searches

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Put Total Billings of $68 Mil. in Play ATLANTA--With newly hired marketing executives at the helm, Celebrity Cruises and its parent, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, have each embarked on separate national searches for a new agency, said sources. There is nearly $70 million in total billings at stake. Celebrity, which recently split with its agency of two years, Harris Drury Cohen, has doubled its creative budget to $35 million in anticipation of adding three ships next year. The line recently handed $8-10 million in collateral and domestic planning and marketing duties to WestWayne in Miami. Royal is further along in its search for a shop to handle its $33 million account, sources said. In that contest, incumbent McKinney & Silver of Raleigh, N.C., is facing off against a pair of finalists: Arnold Communications in Boston and Temerlin McClain of Irving, Texas. The agencies themselves declined comment. Royal plans to launch five new ships over the next five years. Representatives for WestWayne have previously said they "would love to work even more with [Celebrity]," in the wake of the resignation of HDC in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., but last week referred inquiries to the client. Neither Celebrity nor Royal returned phone calls last week. Royal has been holding a separate pitch for its $10 million direct marketing business, which has been narrowed to McKinney & Silver, Rapp Collins of Irving, Texas, and FCB Direct and OgilvyOne, both New York. Overcapacity in the cruise industry has led to a scramble for passengers, even as demand has softened, sources said. Both Miami-based companies have also hired new marketing executives. Royal's Dan Hanrahan previously held senior marketing and sales posts at Reebok and Polaroid. Celebrity's newcomer is James Lamonosoff, an 18-year Saatchi & Saatchi executive, who most recently was vice president of international marketing at Walt Disney Attractions. Young & Rubicam's The Media Edge in New York handles a portion of the media tasks for both lines. McKinney does print and broadcast planning for Royal, as well as print buying. At present, rival Carnival Cruise Lines is the industry's largest player, topping Royal Caribbean on a passenger capacity basis, according to figures from the Cruise Lines International Association. Carnival accounted for 18 percent of industry berths among CLIA's 24 members, while Royal ranked second at 17 percent. Celebrity has 6-7 percent of the industry's capacity. --with Mike Beirne and J. Dee Hill

Brand Marketing

2 Cruise Lines Launch Searches

T.w. Siebert

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T.w. Siebert