DiMassimo Wins the Plaza

By Hank Kim





NEW YORK–The ad account of the Plaza Hotel, a Manhattan landmark, has been awarded to DiMassimo. The shop will handle creative duties, media planning and buying for the hotel, which has an estimated ad budget of $1-2 million. The Plaza is operated by Fairmont Hotels.





‘The Plaza Hotel is a New York icon, and we consider ourselves specialists in icons,’ said DiMassimo president Mark DiMassimo. The shop emerged victorious after two rounds of presentations, including strategy and speculative creative work.





‘We’re looking forward to working with DiMassimo in creating fresh approaches to traditional hotel advertising,’ said Tom Civitano, executive vice president of marketing at the Plaza.





The Plaza Hotel targets upscale business travelers in an increasingly competitive marketplace, which includes the St. Regis Hotel, the Pierre, and the Waldorf-Astoria.





The other contenders were Christy, MacDougall, Mitchell; DiNoto Lee; Biederman, Kelly & Shaffer; and The Ad Store, all in New York.





The hotel’s ad account was previously handled by Opt-X Advertising in West Caldwell, N.J. The agency was acquired recently by Trump Communications, which is also based there. Since Opt-X could only handle advertising for Trump properties, the agency resigned the business.





Previous campaigns touted the Plaza’s posh service, with taglines such as: ‘Nothing unimportant ever happens at the Plaza.’





The Plaza is owned by several investors, including Saudi Prince Walid bin Talal, who has a 50 percent stake.





–with Matt Surman





Copyright ASM Communications, Inc. (1997) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED





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