Starr Seigle lands
Cheap Tickets pact

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

Cheap Tickets Inc. said today it has chosen Honolulu-based Starr Seigle Communications as its national advertising agency.

The discount travel company said it expects to spend $15 million through Starr Seigle next year, which appears to make it the biggest single advertising account held by a Hawaii agency, more than double the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau's $6 million.

"We are very happy to be able to bring our advertising to Hawaii, where our company started 13 years ago," said Michael J. Hartley, founder and chief executive officer of Cheap Tickets.

The contract had been held by a California subsidiary of Japan's Dentsu Inc., which did not seek to renew.

One plus for Starr Seigle, Hartley said, was the agency's abilities in interactive marketing through the Internet. Cheap Tickets, founded in 1986, has been rapidly expanding on the Internet.

As of Sept. 30, the Honolulu-based company had 1.8 million customers registered to use its Web site, www.cheaptickets.com.

Founded in 1956, Starr Seigle is Hawaii's largest marketing and communications firm with $53 million-plus in annual billings.