This is Flow wins $13m Carnival Australia account, bids to refloat cruise industry boat

News 24 Mar 2022 - 2 min read

This is Flow wins $13m Carnival Australia account, bids to refloat cruise industry boat

By Staff writer

This Is Flow CEO Jimmy Hyett: "Now the world is ready to get back on the water."

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Tags: Carnival Australia This is Flow Media investment Jimmy Hyett

This is Flow has been tasked with helping to restart Australia's cruise industry, taking on media planning and buying duties for Carnival Australia ahead of the sector's re-opening in April after two years of shutdown.

What you need to know:

Sydney-based independent handling business for four of six group brands: Princess Cruises, Seabourn Cruises, Cunard Line and Holland America Line.
Industry restarts from April, Flow working behind the scenes for some months already.

This is Flow has confirmed another win, picking up much of Carnival Australia’s business from Initiative.

The account is thought to be worth upwards of $13m in media spend, although that figure may vary as the cruise industry aims to rebuild after Covid sent the industry into shutdown for two years.

Carnival Group has six key brands with Flow handling four of the largest – Princess Cruises, Seabourn Cruises, Cunard Line and Holland America Line, with the agency now tasked with reigniting demand across channels.

The Sydney-based independent has been doing so quietly for some months, but announced the win, which covers Australia and New Zealand, ahead of cruising re-opening from April. Carnival Cruise Line continues to be handled by Speed. Media for P&O is managed by CHEP.

Princess Cruises Senior Director, Sales, Marketing & Service, said Flow showed “ an excellent understanding of our brands” alongside a “clear cultural fit and a shared business mindset”.

This is Flow Founder and CEO Jimmy Hyett said the world is “ready to get back on the water” and that the work already delivered for Carnival “has shown the value that passion and smarts add to such experienced and established brands”.

The agency has tripled in size in less than two years and continues to add staff, despite a sector-wide talent crunch. The company last September said all staff would be eligible for profit share, writing it into contracts and guaranteeing it subject to company and individual targets.

Two months prior, This is Flow inked an affiliate deal with global 'anti holding group' MDC Partners to become its media agency across Australia and New Zealand.

Since then, the firm has won Wesfarmers-owned Workwear Group, KingGee and Hard Yakka brands, as well as Riverina Dairy and Liquefy Health.