BEST WESTERN NARROWS SEARCH
By Adnews Staff
Best Western International of Phoenix, Arizona has narrowed its agency search from seven to four. Among the three agencies dropping out of contention for the $18 million annual account was Cossette Communication-Marketing of Vancouver, the only Canadian agency competing for the business. The agencies still under consideration are: BBDO West and Rubin Postaer & Associates of Los Angeles and Goldberg Moser O'Neil and J. Walter Thompson West of San Francisco. Best Western originally approached 12 agencies for its review in late 1996. Seven agencies, including Cossette, responded to an extensive questionnaire Best Western issued. Gillian Silver, Best Western's public relations director, told Adnews the company probably wouldn't be looking for a Canadian agency to handle media buying north of the border. The final decision on how much advertising the company does in Canada and how to handle it will be decided by Best Western and its new agency, she added. Best Western has nearly 3,700 independently owned and operated hotels in 69 countries.