Hasta La Creative!

AkzoNobel Decorative Paint selected MullenLowe as its global creative agency, following a review overseen by consultancy R3 Worldwide.

Sources close to the matter claim the review included BBDO, TBWA and Publicis. BBH London was the incumbent on the account, which sources say is worth an estimated $50 million.

MullenLowe will be tasked with global brand strategy and communications, handled primarily by MullenLowe London, with regional support in Latin America from MullenLowe Brasil.

“To leverage our global presence and further build our brands, we need a strong creative partner who can deliver against our growth ambition,” AkzoNobel Decorative Paints chief marketing officer David Menko explained in a statement. “MullenLowe Group is the right partner that will help leverage global scale and continue to win at the local level. The paint business is in a period of transformation and we are leading the way globally via our innovation, disruptive communication, and above all our passion to improve people’s lives by helping them improving their living spaces with our products, services and tools.”

“We believe they have the right creative mind-set, strategic muscle and global account experience to deliver exciting, engaging and disruptive world class marketing communication for our brands that will have a lasting impact in the markets driving consumer and painter preference,” added global marketing director, communications Nuno Pena.

In a statement, Jose Miguel Sokoloff, global president, MullenLowe Group Creative Council said the agency was “absolutely thrilled to partner with AkzoNobel, working together to build and grow their business globally. We’re looking forward to putting the power of our challenger thinking and creativity to work to drive an unfair share of attention for AkzoNobel Decorative Paints brands.”

The agency’s first campaign for the brand is expected before the end of the spring.

Battery, the independent Hollywood agency best known for its video game campaigns, has won a review to handle global advertising for AECOM, an American multinational construction and engineering firm.

The global remit follows a formal review, and this is no minor account: AECOM is currently on the Fortune 500 list, and its projects stretch from Aiken, South Carolina to Ethiopia.

In another sign of this company’s size, it recently won a $25 million consulting job for the Army Corps of Engineers and, earlier this month, announced plans for $3.5 billion in acquisitions anticipating President Trump’s (proposed) grand infrastructure spending project.

“This is a major honor and responsibility,” said Battery CEO and co-founder Anson Sowby. “AECOM is a huge engine that builds infrastructure around the country and the globe. We’re proud to be working with them, helping them create awareness of the brand, their extraordinary projects and incredible employees.” CCO Philip Khosid called the client “a company that turns dreams into reality, solving many of the world’s most complex infrastructure challenges” and “a truly unique brand, with an important corporate story to tell.”

It’s unclear whether AECOM had an agency of record prior to launching this review. Wolff Olins worked on a branding project for the company in 2012, and the review followed the October 2016 promotion of SVP, chief communications officer Heather Rim to oversee marketing.

Here’s a campaign that debuted around the same time.

Regarding the review, Rim said, “Battery impressed us with their ability to produce creative work that both emotionally resonates and drives business forward,” adding, “We look forward to showcasing our work together throughout the year ahead.”

Despite AECOM’s influence, the company spent just under $500,000 on measured media in 2015 according to Kantar Media.

The first campaign marking the new partnership with Battery launched today in the form of a 6,500 square foot billboard overlooking L.A.’s Highway 405.

Salisbury, North Carolina-based grocery store chain Food Lion has moved its ad business to GSD&M without a review. The Austin-based shop will officially start working on its newest account this week.

Doner Detroit had been AOR on the business since winning a review managed by Hasan + Company that ended in November 2015 (the account had been with Mullen). The MDC Partners shop was alerted about the change earlier this month.

A company spokesperson writes:

“On April 1, GSD&M will serve as Food Lion’s advertising agency of record. We look forward to partnering with GSD&M to serve as a strategic partner with Food Lion in developing integrated marketing campaigns and programs as the company delivers on its ‘Easy, Fresh and Affordable…You Can Count on Food Lion Every day’ strategy.

We also would like to thank Doner for their partnership since December 2015 and wish them all the best in the future.”

A representative for Doner confirmed that the business is no longer with its Detroit office, which went through a subsequent round of downsizing that affected less than 2 percent of total staff. (It’s unclear whether this number relates to the Detroit headquarters or the larger North American network.)

Doner’s first work for Food Lion was the “How Refreshing” campaign, which went live just under one year ago. Moving forward, GSD&M will handle creative, integrated marketing strategy and media planning/buying.

The parties who first alerted us to the shift stated that no review occurred and that the client did not give Doner a chance to defend the business. According to at least one source, Food Lion picked GSD&M based largely on ]a pre-existing relationship stemming from work that the agency did for fellow retail chain Walgreens (which has been a client since 2012).

A GSD&M spokesperson has not yet responded to our request for comment on the win.

According to the latest numbers from Kantar Media, Food Lion spent $13.4 million on measured media in 2015 and around $11 million in 2016.

It’s not just for frat parties anymore.

German digestif Jägermeister—perhaps best known for its ability to get the job done, and how—has signed indie Crossmedia as media AOR after a competitive review.

It’s like déjà vu all over again, because the New York-based agency also handled the business in 2014. The cause of that unfortunate split is unclear at this time, but the press release claims that the decision “not only reunites old friends and associates” but also “signals a new approach to marketing the brand.” (Cue the Peaches & Herb.)

“This is not about spots and dots,” said Crossmedia CEO Kamran Asghar, “it’s about the brand establishing a meaningful connection with an informed audience and delivering an entirely new creative approach, focusing on their rich and storied German heritage with a modern spin.”

“We have such a storied history in the industry and we’re looking forward to breaking boundaries and forging new paths with Crossmedia as our lead creative media agency,” said Mast-Jägermeister US CMO Chris Peddy.

The company’s paid media spend remains somewhat small thanks, in large part, to its well-established presence in every single American watering hole. Kantar Media lists Jägermeister’s total 2015 budget at $755,000 in the U.S.

Here’s the key point, though: the brand will launch a “compelling and laser-focused multi-channel integrated program” in Q2 with some help from Crossmedia, Opperman Weiss, Ogilvy, Geometry and Red Peg. (The former picked up creative AOR duties, which had been with Mistress, in a review last summer.)

Now here’s Vice’s 2015 take on that history in a video sponsored—of course—by Jägermeister.

3M selected Venables Bell & Partners as its creative agency following a review launched in November which ended a 21-year relationship with Grey. The company’s brands include ubiquitous sticky staples Scotch and Post-it, as well as healthcare brand Nexcare.

“After a thorough and comprehensive search with many great agencies, we have selected Venables Bell & Partners as the new creative agency for 3M’s consumer business,” David Crist, vice president, marketing for 3M’s consumer business group, said in a statement. “VB&P impressed us for many reasons including their proven track record of fueling iconic brands with their creativity and media agnostic approach.”

VB&P will handle global marketing for the brands and has already begun working on cross-platform campaigns set to debut this year.

“These are brands you know and love but may not associate with 3M,” VB&P partner, managing director Kate Jeffers told Adweek, adding the agency is excited to work on 3M’s line of “products you need in the moment” which gives it “so much untapped potential to do innovative, impactful work to place those brands in the larger culture.”

According to Kantar Media, 3M spent $36 million during the first 11 months of 2016, up from $35 million for all of 2015.

The news follows VB&P beating out W+K to win creative duties on Chipotle in January, after deciding not to defend in Phillips 66’s review the month prior.

Reliable sources tell us that Omnicom’s OMD recently triumphed in a global review of Italian eyewear giant Luxottica’s global media business.

You may not know Luxottica by name, but it is currently the world’s largest retailer of glasses—and you will almost certainly recognize a good portion of its brand roster, which includes LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical, Glasses.com, etc. as well as Ray-Ban, Persol, and Oakley. The company also has a license to distribute glasses created by such fashion houses as DKNY, Chanel and Ralph Lauren.

The last such review went down in 2012, with Luxottica consolidating its business with Omnicom. The business had been with Publicis, with Starcom landing the U.S. retail portion in a 2005 review and Luxottica developing a global relationship with the holding company 5 years later. That review stemmed from a desire to consolidate the business with one holding company and involved all of the majors including Dentsu and Havas.

The review came amid some major changes at Luxottica, most prominently French manufacturer Essilor’s January bid to buy the company for $24 billion in stock, thereby creating the world’s biggest combined maker and seller of eyewear-related products. Since then, the company has also acquired Brazilian retailer Óticas Carol and announced plans to expand its Georgia distribution facility, creating an estimated 1,000 jobs. (Essilor is also an Omnicom client whose media business is run out of OMD Chicago.)

The company’s overall revenue dipped last year thanks to a spending slowdown in the United States, which remains its biggest market. Executives are “cautious,” but analysts say Luxottica will remain stable thanks to its dominance of the field in the U.S. and abroad.

An OMD spokesperson deferred to the client’s PR department, which has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Luxottica works with various agencies including SapientNitro on the creative side of its brand portfolio. According to Kantar Media, the company spent $135 million on measured media in the U.S. in 2015 and around $100 million last year. Its global spend is estimated to be around $250 million across more than 150 countries.

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Food and supply store chain Smart & Final is in the RFP phase of a creative agency review, according to parties who reached out to us this week.

The California-based company, which formed as a conglomerate of several retailers, has worked with several agencies in the past.

The Phelps Group won a 1998 review to help the business rebrand, and Newport Beach’s HEILBrice appears to have been its last AOR, based on this brand spot shared on the agency’s YouTube page about a year ago.

A Smart & Final spokesperson declined to discuss the review, writing, “As a matter of practice, Smart & Final does not publicly comment on information related to its agency partners.”

According to Kantar Media, Smart & Final spent just over $5 million on measured media in 2016.

In terms of the overall business, the chain recently saw its revenue dip after acquiring several bankrupt Haggen Inc. stores and turning them into Smart & Final Extra! locations. But the company remains in expansion mode, and according to Supermarket News it “posted net income of $12.9 million [for 2016], vs. $38.3 million a year ago.”

We do not currently have information regarding the agencies involved in the review.

Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement & Development Authority (GWTIDA) appointed Boston-based independent agency Fuseideas as its advertising agency of record, following a review.

Fuseideas will be tasked with creative, media, strategy and planning responsibilities. It first task will be to create an integrated advertising campaign for the New Jersey destination featuring broadcast, digital, print, OOH, SEM and social components.

The appointment marks the end of GWTIDA’s 17-year relationship with Philadelphia’s Signature Communications.

“We were very happy with the work of Signature Communications as the agency of record for the last 17-years. However, at the end of each 5-year contract period, we are mandated to go out for public proposal,” GWTIDA executive director and CFO John Siciliano explained in a statement. “There were ten agencies submitting proposals and after a thorough process we felt that Fuseideas was best positioned to take our creative in a fresh new direction at this time.”

“We are really honored to introduce a new generation to The Wildwoods, one of the most awarded and legacy family beach destinations in the country,” Fuseideas CEO Dennis Franczak added. “The Wildwoods has a rich heritage of family-fun and lasting memories. We look forward to spreading the word about this unique and special spot, using today’s innovative social, mobile and digital channels. At Fuseideas we view every brand as a challenger brand, continuing to push boundaries in their respective industry and space. We are very excited to champion The Wildwoods.”

The appointment follows the arrival of Fuseideas executive creative directors Darren Bult and Grady Winch last December. 

Oil company Phillips 66 selected Carmichael Lynch as its agency of record, following a closed review launched in December and managed by The Burnett Collective.

According to Kantar Media, Phillips 66 spent approximately $8 million on measured media in 2015 and $6 million from January through November in 2016.

Prior to the review, Venables Bell & Partners had served as AOR since winning a previous review over GSD&M and David&Goliath in 2009.

“We’ve recently decided to part ways with PSX after 8 great years working with them on a number of their brands including Phillips 66 and 76,”  VB&P president Paul Birks-Hay said in a statement at the time. “We’re proud of our work together and wish them much success ahead.”

Carmichael Lynch will now be responsible for creative, digital, brand strategy, analytics, cause marketing and media buying and planning for the Phillips 66, 78 and Conoco brands. The agency’s first work will focus on supporting current campaigns via promotions and sports marketing, with a new brand campaign set to launch some time next year, Adweek reports.

“Carmichael Lynch came to the table with an understanding of our business needs, our values and our company culture,” Phillips 66 senior director of brands Sarah Bolding said in a statement. “Their integrated resources produced an outstanding creative product and 360-degree plan.”

Applebee’s named Grey as its creative agency of record, following a review launched in December. The WPP network’s New York and L.A. offices will handle the account, the latter due to its proximity to parent company DineEquity’s headquarters.

Last month, we learned that the review was down to three finalists, with Grey apparently beating out BBDO and Argonaut to be named the chain’s agency of record, making it the third agency to hold that distinction in the past two years. According to an internal memo from Grey CEO Debby Reiner, 24 agencies responded to the RFP, with a group of six later reduced to the three aforementioned finalists.

Previous lead Barkley won the account after Applebee’s ended its relationship with CP+B in November of 2015. The Kansas City indie shop launched the brand’s “largest marketing initiative to date” with a campaign focused on the chain’s wood-fired steaks last summer, then went through a “staffing adjustment” that reportedly did not decrease its overall headcount.

“We couldn’t be more excited to begin working with Grey,” Applebee’s interim senior vice president of marketing and culinary Jeannine D’Addario said in a statement reported by Adweek. “In addition to their deep experience, capability and creativity, the team at Grey has a solid understanding of Applebee’s evolving consumer, the brand’s legacy and our goals to ignite change and deliver original and compelling work.”

Earlier this month, DineEquity named John Cywinski as Applebee’s new president. He previously spent five years as CMO for the chain, beginning in 2001, and will be tasked with reversing “sluggish” sales. According to Kantar Media, the chain spent around $160 million on measured media in the U.S. last year. No word on whether that total will change.

In today’s memo, Reiner wrote, “We will be responsible for creative development, market strategy and brand positioning, crafting engaging campaigns that resonate with their customers nationally. Our integrated communications effort will launch in July.”

“We’ll celebrate after the blizzard,” she added.