Hasta La Creative!

ALDI is in the midst of a review of its U.S. account and incumbent McCann Detroit has been eliminated in the process, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Sources claim Leo Burnett is among the finalists in the review.

McCann declined to comment. ALDI U.S. has yet to provide a statement as of publication time.

ALDI spent just over $51 million on measured media in the U.S. in 2016 and $40 million in the first six months of 2017, according to Kantar Media.

ALDI named McCann as lead agency for its U.S. account back in 2009. The agency brought on Gary Holme as senior vice president and creative director on the account in 2015, but he appears to have left the agency a year and a half later.

McCann Manchester has long handled ALDI’s advertising in the U.K. and retained the account following a review in 2016 which included Mother, JWT, M&C Saatchi, and  Havas. In 2015, McCann Worldgroup Germany was named AOR for ALDI Nord.

Patrick Coffee contributed reporting to this story.

In December, home improvement giant Lowe’s confirmed that it would be the latest retailer to break with tradition in abandoning the traditional agency of record model.

That news came in the form of a creative review that launched after Lowe’s parted with its CMO and moved its media buying business from OMD to Starcom, thereby ending an exclusive 12-year relationship with Omnicom.

This review, however, is unique in several ways.

Lowe’s is hardly the first client eager to keep its options open on the agency front. But according to three parties with direct knowledge of the matter, the current review is organized by region, with three separate pitches involving agencies in the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest portions of the United States. (Lowe’s is based in Mooresville, North Carolina.)

Each pitch involves three finalists competing to be Lowe’s creative agency for their respective regions. Our sources say the process is now in its last stages, with final presentations occurring last week.

Moving forward, Lowe’s will retain all three winners, maintaining the equivalent of an open-format business relationship with each. In other words, the different shops could simultaneously work on different and potentially complimentary projects. According to our sources, major projects will also follow a “jump ball” round in which the three agencies will pitch against one another.

All factors strongly indicate that spending concerns helped shape this approach, with earlier reports stating that Lowe’s looks to move away from major TV and print work in order to focus more heavily on digital campaigns.

But this not a standard consolidation effort in which a major client moves all work to a single holding group. When news of the review first broke, a BBDO representative confirmed that the agency would be defending its business. According to our sources, IPG’s Ep.+Co, sister agency to Hill Holliday, is also competing in the Southeastern pitch.

A BBDO representative deferred to the client for further comment, and an Ep+Co. spokesperson declined to comment. Lowe’s also declined to elaborate on the review, and the full list of agencies involved is unclear at this time.

All of our sources, however, agree that the winners should be announced in coming weeks.

Expedia-owned online travel brand Orbitz selected Havas Chicago as its creative agency of record, following a review which included over ten agencies. Havas will be tasked with creative, digital and social responsibilities.

Orbitzand more than $15 million in the first six months of 2017, according to Kantar Media.

“Beyond the extensive capabilities Havas Chicago brings to the table, they demonstrated a clear understanding of our needs and positioning in a cluttered industry,” Orbitz brand marketing director Carey Malloy said in a statement. “It was like a first date, where both sides just clicked. Havas Chicago delivered on values, transparency and energy that are all similar in our brand philosophy.”

“Cultural relevance isn’t something you can fake,” added Havas Chicago president and chief client officer  Tatia Torrey. “Our approach is deeply rooted in contemporary culture which allows us to be the best partner to brands like Orbitz – a brand that is looking to re-energize its connection with travel consumers. We consistently remain at the forefront of trends, making culture rather than borrowing from it, and we look forward to bringing this value to Orbitz.”

Halo Top named Venice Beach, California-based creative agency and consultancy Wolfgang as its first agency of record, following a review.

“Halo Top is a dream brand,” Wolfgang co-founder and president Seema Miller said in a statement. “It’s fun, guilt-free and has essentially redefined the entire ice cream category. We are excited to carry on the momentum for this amazing brand.”

Earlier speculation that Anomaly won the account was incorrect. According to sources close to the matter, Doner and CP+B were finalists in the review.

The brand previously worked with Philadelphia agency Red Tettemer + Partners on a project basis and the agency launched the brand’s first national campaign this past summer. In September, Halo Top teamed up with Mike Diva and Lord Danger Productions for a strange cinema ad.

Halo Top spent a little over $2.1 million in 2016 and $4.2 million during the first six months of 2017, according to Kantar Media.

JC Penney recently moved its advertising account to Badgers & Winters.

“Badger & Winters is proud to be working as agency of record for JCPenney, an iconic retail brand,” Badgers & Winters president Jim Winters said in a statement. “We have always admired JCPenney and its commitment to bringing value to America’s hardworking families. We are very much looking forward to working closely with the company on their creative and marketing strategy.”

AdAge reported that mcgarrybowen, an incumbent on the account since 2015, would aid in the transition, with the last work from mcgarrybowen airing some time in the first quarter of 2018. It was unclear, however, whether the assignment had been preceded by a review.

Sources with direct knowledge of the matter told AgencySpy that Badgers & Winters won the assignment following a review conducted by R3.

There are contradicting reports from sources as to whether the incumbent was part of that review.

A source close to the matter informed AgencySpy that “while no agency wants to walk away from an account,” most employees working on the account had already been reassigned and the agency was actively hiring, adding that JC Penney picked an excellent new partner in Badgers & Winters.

Mcgarrybowen picked up a series of new clients in 2017, including American Express, and is part of the Dentsu team that Subway consolidated its U.S. and Canadian accounts last month.

The agency’s work for JC Penney included the June, 2016 body positivity spot “Here I Am.”

Arnold Worldwide will no longer serve as lead creative agency for CenturyLink.

Sources claim that CenturyLink has ended its relationship with the agency and launched a review, but Arnold claims it is still on the client’s roster.

“With CenturyLink’s acquisition of Level 3 Communications, they have expanded their roster of agencies to allow for cost efficiencies,” an agency spokesperson wrote in a statement. “There was not a review and Arnold is still a roster agency.”

We reached out to CenturyLink, which declined to comment, stating that it doesn’t discuss its agency relationships.

CenturyLink named Arnold as its lead creative agency following a review in November of 2014. Its work for the client included a February, 2016 ad starring Paul Giamatti.

Last month, we reported that Arnold went through a recent round of layoffs at its Boston and New York offices which impacted 32 employees. The staffing cuts followed the agency parting ways with Carnival in May, preceding a review which concluded with the selection of Anomaly as the new creative AOR for the cruise line, and Hershey announcing in August that it was consolidating its creative account with MDC Partners.

Arnold’s future relationship with two other clients are also unclear.

Sources claimed in December that Angie’s List, which named Arnold as its lead creative partner as part of a brand refresh last January, was no longer working with Arnold. An Angie’s List representative commented that the company was “still evaluating our 2018 ad strategy and agency relationships” at the time.

When asked about KAO’s relationship with the agency, KAO senior vice president, regional executive officer, Americas and EMEA mass business Dave Muenz, Sr. said in a statement, “We have and may continue to partner with Arnold on a project basis.”

2017 saw a series of executive level changes for Arnold Worldwide. The agency parted with executive director Barbara Reilly and senior vice president, marketing director and head of new business Michael Shonkoff in February, followed by chief creative officer Jim Elliot the following month. Over the summer, Arnold welcomed Icaro Doria from DDB as its new CCO.

Lindsay Rittenhouse contributed reporting to this story.

Crystal Cruises is in the final stages of a review.

A client spokesperson confirmed it is in the “final stages of the RFP process” to find an agency of record for 2018. Crystal Cruises also confirmed that incumbent VML has been invited to participate and that the agency “continues to support all of our digital initiatives.”

Sources claim the other finalists include MRMMcCann, Digitas and Fluid but the client declined to specify participants beyond the incumbent.

Crystal Cruises spent a little over $1.2 million on measured media domestically last year and around $558,000 in the first six months of 2017, according to Kantar Media.

The news follows the company’s recent announcement that it has appointed Kari Tarnowski as its new vice president, marketing.

VML won AOR duties for Dick’s Sporting Goods in October and retailer Express in August.

Nokia Health has selected San Francisco-based TBD as its global creative and strategic agency of record, following a review, tasking the agency with leading integrated marketing campaigns for its digital health services across the U.S. and Europe.

San Francisco-based Mediasmith will handle media buying and planning duties for the brand in the U.S., while Initiative will continue to handle these responsibilities in Europe.

TBD was launched in October by former 180LA executive creative director Rafael Rizuto, innovation strategist Virginia Wang and Argonaut founder Jordan Warren, based on a philosophy of “continual evolution.”

“We were impressed by TBD’s commitment to our vision and its level of sophistication, strategy and listening,” Nokia Digital Health global head of marketing Gemini Babla said in a statement. “In a short amount of time, TBD showcased a great understanding of our products and values by presenting thoughtful and impactful creative that resonated with our team. Culturally we are in the same place and immediately felt like partners.”

TBD’s first assignment for the brand will be a cross-channel campaign launching in early 2018.

“At TBD we are committed to working with purposeful brands who are striving to make a difference in the world,” TBD chief creative officer Rafael Rizuto said in a statement. “We’ve spent a lot of time crafting our vision as an agency so that we aren’t ‘just another agency’ and I couldn’t be more thrilled to see this coming to life with an iconic brand like Nokia in such a relevant category as digital health.”

“We couldn’t have dreamed of a better first client for our new agency,” added TBD CEO Jordan Warren added. 

In an effort to cut costs, McDonald’s consolidated its local advertising business this summer with just seven agencies, a sharp decline from the 58 it used to employ, according to sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

One person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the agencies chosen were longtime partners Lopez Negrete, Bernstein-Rein, Moroch, Davis Elen and H&L and newcomers Zimmerman and Doner.

Another reliable source confirmed this lineup, which was first reported by AdAge, and added that Zimmerman has since lost an unspecified portion of the business—which amounted to 19 regional co-ops including Ohio. The chain’s 180 cooperatives had been consolidated to 50 prior to the review. Each then chose an agency partner from the list of 7.

It’s unclear why Zimmerman lost a portion of its responsibilities.

“Building the modern, progressive company that we aspire to be involves changing the way we do business,” a McDonald’s spokeswoman wrote in an email to Adweek. “In order to accelerate our efforts to engage customers across all platforms to advance our brand vision, we aim to streamline and modernize our local marketing efforts in 2018.”

She declined to comment further.

Zimmerman also declined to comment, deferring to the client. The agency had not previously worked with McDonald’s, but the primary source said McDonald’s relationship with Omnicom—centered on the dedicated agency We Are Unlimited—played a key role in the chain’s decision to assign the work to the Florida agency.

The decision to consolidate came from McDonald’s executives, who are being pressured to deliver on a pledge they’ve made to produce $300 million in cost savings over the next five years, according to the primary source.

McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook has been laser-focused on what he calls a “velocity growth plan” to reduce costs and streamline operations as the fast-food chain invests heavily in new technology and works to return capital to shareholders.

Per a Kantar Media report, McDonald’s spent $791.3 million on advertising in the U.S. in 2016 and $350.7 million in the first half of this year.

Lowe’s confirmed today that it has launched a creative review and will no longer be working with creative agencies on an AOR basis. The news first ran in Adweek.

This is bad for BBDO, which has been creative agency of record on the brand for more than a decade, and for its parent company Omnicom, which already lost the media portion of the business back in February.

From a company spokesperson:

As we continue to explore compelling and efficient ways to engage with consumers, we made the decision to evolve our agency business model to one where we can collaborate with a roster of creative agencies. We believe this new approach will provide our team with the diverse thought, talent and capabilities needed to lead in a dynamic marketing environment.

We are currently working independently on the bidding process. BBDO is participating in the review process to be considered as one of the firms on our roster of creative agencies. We are just beginning the bidding process and can share more details in the coming months.

BBDO first won the business in a 2005 review, beating out Deutsch, McCann and TBWAChiatDay in an IPG vs. Omnicom pitch. It has successfully defended the account twice since then.

According to a couple of people who spoke to us, this is a procurement-based review that gained greater urgency when the incoming CMO Jocelyn Wong conducted an audit and found that Lowe’s spends a considerable amount on TV and print placements; much of BBDO’s recent work has been more focused on digital and social media.

The client’s paid budget came out to $400 million last year, but it’s not clear how much of that went to traditional media and much revenue BBDO draws from the account.

Nor is it clear which agencies are pitching—though it would not be surprising to see a small group of independent shops win portions of the business, as they did in the case of General Mills earlier this year.

[Pic via Lowe’s]