Grey takes 10m Sandals account from DDB

Sandals, the Caribbean holiday company, is poised to appoint Grey London to handle its estimated £10m advertising business following a competitive pitch against undisclosed agencies.

It is unclear whether incumbent agency DDB London – which has held the Sandals account since the previous incumbent Burkitt DDB was rolled into the agency earlier this year – was involved in the pitch. The account was originally held by Omnicom-owned Griffin Bacal, which was merged with Court Burkitt to form Burkitt DDB in 2000.

The brief for Grey will include direct response, outdoor and TV advertising.

The holiday company is a collection of 12 resorts created exclusively for couples in locations such as Jamaica, St Lucia and Antigua. In January 2006, the resort signed a deal with EMAP radio station Magic 105.4 so that all Magic promotions were focused on the resort for one week to celebrate its 25th anniversary. As a finale, Magic presenter Steve Priestley broadcast from the Caribbean.

In 2000, the Jamaican-owned resort undertook a marketing push with an all-encompassing sponsorship of the West Indies cricket team.

A spokesman for Sandals denied the appointment of Grey and DDB London also denied the move.

Last year DDB London lost the £115m advertising business for holiday group TUI to Krow.