Luxury hotel company Jumeirah Group has appointed Omnicom Media Group’s OMD as its global SEM agency following a competitive pitch.

 

OMD already holds the company’s media planning and buying contract, and stressed the benefits of integrating this with the rest of the media account from its Dubai base. The incumbent on the SEM account was KEADE.

Jumeirah Group vice president of brand, digital and loyalty Ross McAuley said the company was impressed by OMD’s digital capabilities in a previous above the line pitch, leading to the firm inviting a SEM pitch.

“They presented us with a compelling combination of technology and expertise, integrated with the rest of our media operations,” added McAuley. “With such a persuasive proposition, extending the scope of work on our business was the right decision for us.”

Jumeirah Group, which is a member of Dubai Holding, was founded in 1997 and operates 23 luxury hotels in ten countries, with the promise to ‘Stay Different’.

OMD UAE & Lower Gulf managing director Nadim Samara felt that the addition put OMD in a better position to demonstrably impact business results.

“Many advertisers believe expertise only rests with specialist agencies but Jumeirah isn’t one of those,” Samara added. “As an innovative and forward-thinking company, they’ve seen the value of an integrated expert offering and the efficiencies and synergies it brings.”