Omnicom’s TBWA has been named the global agency of record for Airbnb, the hospitality startup, after a review.
Omnicom’s TBWA has been named the global agency of record for Airbnb, the hospitality startup, after a review. The agency was selected because of a “rigorous and inventive strategy, provocative creative and understanding of the brand’s purpose and its potential,” Airbnb said in a statement.
“We’re delighted to be working with TBWAChiatDay, one of the truly great global agencies, at one of the most exciting points in our history,” Airbnb CMO Jonathan Mildenhall said in the statement. “The team rose to our challenge to find incredibly creative and authentic ways to connect with our community around the world, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
The pitch was led by TBWA/Chiat/Day Los Angeles, with contributions from TBWA/Paris and Lew’Lara/TBWA in Brazil as well as TBWA/London and TBWA/Singapore, which had already been working with Airbnb in Europe and Asia Pacific. There was no consultant on the review and it wasn’t immediately clear if Pereira & O’Dell, which had been working with Airbnb as its lead agency, participated in the review. A spokeswoman for the agency did not immediate respond to an email seeking comment.
The move comes just four months after Jonathan Mildenhall left Coca-Cola to become CMO at Airbnb. Just after that announcement, the company began its first global effort, with ads in nine markets. That effort was handled by Pereira & O’Dell. The first TBWA work is expected to break toward the end of 2014, with a focus on the U.S., Asia, Latin America and Western Europe, according to the statement.
“Airbnb is at the forefront of a social revolution,” Stephen Butler, chief creative officer, TBWA in L.A., said in the statement. “As a brand, Airbnb is not only changing the way we travel but also the way we relate to one another.”
