The WPP-owned Grey London has won the global creative account for Tourism Ireland.
With an advertising and marketing spend of €73m this year, Tourism Ireland is a coveted account for any agency to win. It is understood that Grey picked up the account following a keenly contested battle with Droga5 Dublin, part of Accenture Song.
The incumbent on the account is Publicis London which has held it for the last 13 years. The agency first won the business in 2011 following a pitch against BBH, Saatchi & Saatchi and JWT London, which had been the incumbent on the account since 2005.
During its tenure, Publicis created a number of award-winning campaigns for Tourism Ireland. Earlier this year, it rolled out a global campaign called “Fill Your Heart with Ireland” featuring celebrities like Sharon Horgan from Bad Sisters, and Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, from Derry Girls.
As the “cooling off”period is still ongoing following the account win, neither a spokesperson from Tourism Ireland or Grey London were available to comment.
Grey London has been quietly expanding its reach into the Irish market in recent years working closely with Vodafone Ireland and Bank of Ireland.
