Whitbread to review its media planning and buying

Whitbread is reviewing its £12m media planning and buying business ahead of the £9m rebrand of its Premier Travel Inn hotel chain. The review comes just two years after it appointed Starcom to handle its consolidated account.

Whitbread is reviewing its £12m media planning and buying business ahead of the £9m rebrand of its Premier Travel Inn hotel chain. The review comes just two years after it appointed Starcom to handle its consolidated account.

It is understood that the account will also include Beefeater, Brewers Fayre and Costa Coffee. Starcom is not expected to repitch for the business and it is not clear if Whitbread plans to split the hotel business from the rest of the account.

The business was consolidated for the first time in 2005. Starcom was the incumbent agency for Pizza Hut, which is part-owned by Whitbread, and had worked with Premier Travel Inn and Beefeater. It previously used about ten agencies on a project basis but it has already worked with OMD and BLM.

The leisure company is also seeking an advertising agency to handle the Premier Travel Inn account. It is understood that incumbent agency Inferno are repitching for the account.