Red Lion Hotels named MeringCarson as its agency of record, following a review. The agency will work on a variety of work supporting its Local.Wise. brand initiative. New work will launch this spring. "We were very impressed with MeringCarson's body of work as well as their expertise in the destination marketing field," said Harry Sladich, executive vice president of sales & marketing for Red Lion Hotels Corporation. The west coast based hotels spent $1.6 million on measured media between January and September of 2013, according to Kantar Media. Additional MeringCarson clients include Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, Visit California, Pebble …

Della Femina Advertising was awarded advertising, digital, mobile marketing, social media, creative and PR/community relations support for Barbacoa Mexican Grill. New work for Barbacoa's first franchise restaurant in Los Angeles's Westwood neighborhood will be launching out of the agency’s new office in LA. Barbacoa has ten locations in Utah with additional locations opening nationwide and in Asia.

Following a 3-month review, Deschutes Brewery named TDA_Boulder as its advertising agency of record. The agency will handle advertising, brand identity, including new packaging. First work, for Deschutes' flagship Black Butte Porter, will launch later this year. "TDA came in and challenged the conventions of beer marketing, and more specifically, how craft brands are being marketed," said Jeff Billingsley, marketing director at Deschutes Brewery. "Their pragmatic approach, combined with great creative talent, is precisely what we need for the next phase of our evolution." Deschutes Brewery is the nation's twelfth largest brewer, and fifth largest craft brewer, producing 285,000 barrels …

Memorial Sloan Kettering named the New York office of Pereira & O'Dell as its creative agency of record and Media Storm as its media agency of record following separate reviews. Joanne Davis Consulting oversaw both reviews. DiMassimo Goldstein previously handled the work. Pereira & O'Dell New York will lead the development of a new strategic and creative communications platform for Memorial Sloan Kettering. Work will launch later this year. This is the agency's first big healthcare client. "This is an opportunity to not only communicate all of the extraordinary things happening at MSK, but to create work that changes the way people …

Olson was named the first agency of record for wet n wild Beauty, following a national search. Work includes broadcast, digital, social media and data analytics. The campaign will be supported with a multimillion-dollar campaign. The brand experienced three consecutive years of retail sales growth, notably following the addition of Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas as spokeswoman in 2012. “Our brand is in a great position to reach out to a broader audience,” said Bill George, Markwins Beauty Products President and COO. “Of all the agencies we talked to, Olson’s team best understood our circumstances and laid out the …

Marc Anthony True Professional Hair care, a Toronto-based hair care line of products, tapped Detroit-based Jekyll & Hyde as its advertising agency, charged with driving brand awareness to its Oil of Morocco Argan Oil, Dream Waves Beach Spray and Strictly Curls Collections of products.

EmblemHealth, a New York–based health insurer and wellness company, awarded Havas Worldwide’s Strat Farm agency in New York lead strategic, creative and media duties for its brand advertising campaign.

Turtle Wax named Chicago-based O'Keefe, Reinhard & Paul (OKRP) as its creative agency of record. BBDO previously handled the account. The brand's marketing strategy will focus on integrating digital and social channels with traditional marketing. "We are planning to kick off the year with a quick-to-market digital and social approach to engage consumers," said Tracey Schroeder, vice president of Marketing at Turtle Wax. The first campaign is scheduled to launch later this year. Turtle Wax pent $3 million in measured media from January to September of 2013, down from its 2012 media spend of $6.2 million, according to Kantar Media. …

BBDO New York was named multimedia creative agency partner for Major League Baseball (MLB), charged with managing all brand and Jewel Event (Opening Day, All-Star Game, Postseason) advertising and marketing. Hill Holliday previously handled the work and will continue serving as agency of record for the MLB Fan Cave. "This is an incredibly exciting time for Major League Baseball, and BBDO is exceptionally well-suited to help us bring the best game in the world to our fans in uniquely creative ways," said Tim Brosnan, Executive vice president, business Major League Baseball. MLB spent $20 million on measured media between January …

Following a review, U.S International Media was named media buying and planning agency of record for the Institute of Culinary Education, a New York-based center for culinary education. The school was founded in 1975 by Peter Kump and offers 8-to-13-month training programs for culinary arts, pastry & baking, culinary management and hospitality management. The agency will handle media planning and buying duties, along with market research work.