Thomas Cook reviews UK media account
Thomas Cook is to review its consolidated UK media planning and buying account, following the company’s spate of acquisitions last year.
The holiday operator’s procurement team has been in contact with a number of media agencies, and will finalise a shortlist for the account, worth an estimated £30m next week.
The business will include online and offline media for all of the Thomas Cook brands, including Thomas Cook Travel Services, Direct Holidays and Going Places Travel Agent.
Arena BLM and MediaVest Manchester are current incumbents on the account.
A recent campaign for Thomas Cook, created by Beta, was fronted by Jamie and Louise Redknapp and featured the tagline “Don’t just book it. Thomas Cook it.”
The company recently announced a 15% rise in holiday sales, saying that the ad campaign helped achieve the increase.
A spokesperson for Thomas Cook UK & Ireland says: “Following the acquisition of a number of businesses last year, we can confirm that we are in the process of reviewing our media buying capabilities, with the view to making a single appointment for the UK business.”
The company also confirmed that current agencies have already been notified and have been invited to re-pitch.
The process is likely to take a few weeks and is being managed in-house.
