Busy Bees seeks integrated agency for 6 of its early childhood education brands in SG

Childcare provider Busy Bees has started an open tender for integrated digital marketing agency. The agency will be tasked to?manage six of its early childhood education brands in terms of digital creatives and media buying. They are namely Bright Path, Brighton Montessori, Learning Vision, Odyssey the Global Preschool, Pat?s Schoolhouse, and Small Wonder.

In a statement to Marketing, a Busy Bees spokesperson said the company has spoken to Tribal Worldwide Singapore and Happy Marketer so far, but would like to hear from a few more agencies. The appointment is for a period of one year, and will be decided latest by end-January 2020.

The selected agency will be responsible for customising?strategy and content for Busy Bees' Facebook and Instagram channels as well as search engine marketing. Content creation would include supporting images and videos. It will also propose and execute suitable digital media buys.

The search for an integrated agency also marks the first time Busy Bees shifting away from engaging smaller boutique agencies for individual brands. "We hope we can provide better quality content, enhance customer experience through our platforms and achieving greater consistency across our brands. We believe there will also be some cost savings in appointing one agency to oversee all our digital marketing efforts," said Alvin Tham, head of marketing at Busy Bees.

According to Tham, the company hopes the integrated agency can help to reflect the "distinct brand personalities" of the six brands more prominently in the digital space. The ideal agency should therefore, have a good understanding of the different brand personalities as well as the resources to manage all the brands effectively.

Started in 1983, UK-based Busy Bees currently has a network of close to 600 education locations worldwide. It expanded to Asia in 2014 and currently manages nine early childhood education brands in Singapore (formerly known as Knowledge Universe Singapore), Malaysia, Vietnam, and China.