What you need to know:

• Tourism Fiji has named Host/Havas to its digital, CX and creative account and Havas Media to its media account.
• The pitch was “highly competitive”, Havas said. Tourism Fiji CMO Emma Campbell said the organisation’s new partner joined at a critical time.

The pitch for Tourism Fiji’s new media, creative and digital partners that attracted dozens of potential suitors has ended, with Havas Village Sydney named to the travel body’s global accounts.

Host/Havas has taken the creative, CX and digital, while Havas Media has won the media account.

The pitch centred around the country’s post-pandemic recovery as a tourist destination, building on the ‘Where Happiness Finds You’ brand platform. Havas Media will lead on global media buying and strategy.

The global media and digital account was said to be worth $10-12 million a year, with creative at $3-5m – though it’s understood that was in Fijian dollars ($1FJD = $0.66AUD).

The pitch was promoted on LinkedIn by Tourism Fiji’s CEO, former South Australian Tourism Commission CMO Brent Hill. More than 100 agencies are said to have piled in.

“The next few years are critical for us as we build on the positive momentum from our successful reopening,” Tourism Fiji CMO Emma Campbell said in a statement.

“We feel very confident our partnership with Havas will help us deliver the next phase of our strategic plan.”

Host/Havas CEO Laura Aldington said the win was a boost for the Havas Village’s ‘Better Together’ strategy, while Havas Media Group CEO, Virginia Hyland, said she looked forward to working with Campbell and her team.