PR and digital marketing agency Roland Dransfield has been appointed by Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites – Manchester Oxford Road, to market Manchester’s first dual-branded hotel.
The Manchester-based agency was selected following a competitive pitch process to support the launch of the 19-storey building, which is located on Corridor Manchester.
Containing 328-rooms, the dual-branded Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites – known as a ‘double pack’ concept – will be unveiled to the public in early 2018.
Both brands are part of the IHG portfolio.
Roland Dransfield’s associate director Caroline Aspinall said: “Manchester is following in the footsteps of great cities across the globe that have incorporated dual-branded hotels in their offer.
“Roland Dransfield is delighted to be involved in telling that unique story and in bringing a ‘first’ to Manchester.
“At the same time, we are thrilled to have secured such a high profile and coveted client when competition for the account was so high.
“Our campaign ideas really resonated with the client and clearly supported their objectives for a successful launch.”
The dual-branded hotel forms part of the University of Manchester’s Campus Masterplan, which includes the wider redevelopment of Alliance Manchester Business School. It will also adjoin its new two-storey Executive Education Centre, which will provide a new home for the business school’s corporate leadership and management programmes.
Both Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites sit within Corridor Manchester, which is home to 70,000 students and boasts a workforce of 60,000 people – with 14,000 new jobs planned.
Andrew Fletcher is General Manager. He said: “We really are thrilled to be working with Roland Dransfield to bring our dual-branded hotel concept to Manchester.
“There was an instant connection with the Roland Dransfield team. They demonstrated their expertise and that each of them have different skills and experience to bring to the account.
“They had researched well, responded properly to the brief and showed they fully understood our need to build links with the Manchester community and what is known as Corridor Manchester.
“Their pitch was highly engaging and focussed on deliverables – rather than proving who else they had worked with.
“They were definitely best in class and we are delighted to have them onboard.”
The appointment comes as Roland Dransfield marks its 21st birthday by launching a consumer division to service a growing number of consumer-facing accounts.
The division, led by Adam Moss, also manages accounts for Sale Sharks, Boodles Tennis, Playon Pro, The Offside Trust and The Range.
Adam Moss joined Roland Dransfield as head of consumer in July from Brazen, where he spent nine years as director of news and creative content.
Caroline added: “We’ve always has a great reputation for our B2B and are already carving out an enviable reputation for our B2C work too.
“Our aim is to be as successful with our consumer offering as the agency has been over the last 21 years with its B2B offering so we can ensure there isn’t a brief that we cannot respond to.”
