Hotwire Names FCB Creative Agency of Record

Hotwire, a leading online travel site and operating company of Expedia, Inc., announced today that it has selected Interpublic Group’s FCB as its creative agency of record after a full media, creative and public relations review. As part of this new partnership, FCB’s San Francisco office, FCB West, will be responsible for Hotwire’s brand repositioning and strategy, concept development and integrated campaign execution.

Hotwire joins FCB West’s impressive roster of iconic brands, which include Levi’s, Clorox, Dockers, Smokey Bear and Ghirardelli. Seeking an agency partner to help them reinvigorate their brand and regain market share among an extremely saturated competitive market, Hotwire conducted a competitive review that started late last year with many of the most admired creative agencies participating.

“This is going to be an exciting year for the brand, and we’ve found a team of creative partners who not only share in our vision, but also in our passion for the product and what it means to our customers,” said Melissa Postier, Director Brand, PR and Social for Hotwire.

Hotwire is a leading discount travel site that can be used to book vacation packages, hotel rooms, airline tickets and rental cars. Launched in 2000, Hotwire operates by selling unsold travel inventory at discounted prices. It uses an opaque sales model to fill unsold hotel rooms, airline seats and rental cars.

“We’re excited to be partnering with Hotwire as their lead creative agency to help them drive and fuel business momentum,” said FCB West CEO Joe Oh. “We look forward to delivering a breakthrough creative campaign that will be the next great success story in the dynamic travel industry.”

This latest client win marks an impressive start to the year for FCB, which was named Ad Age’s “Agency to Watch” in 2018 and recently announced the win of the GE Appliances business. FCB West has played a significant role in the agency’s success, winning back Levi’s in 2014 and Clorox in 2016. The agency’s first work for Hotwire is expected to launch later this summer.