Hasta La Creative!

Party City selected Boston-based Hill Holliday as its lead creative, digital and media agency, following a review launched in February which saw longtime incumbent Zimmerman Advertising defend the account. At least one source tells us Barkley also pitched.

We reached out to Zimmerman for comment but have yet to receive a response, which may be because the Ft. Lauderdale agency has also handled PR for Party City.

“While we are sorry to part ways with Party City, we understand that new management often triggers new agencies,” Zimmerman CEO Michael Goldberg said in a statement published by AdAge.”That said, we will always root for them and take pride knowing we helped them double their revenue, more than doubled their profits, increased unaided awareness from 26% to 86% and drove positive comp sales every year of our relationship — something unheard of in today’s retail marketplace.”

Zimmerman’s most well-known work for the brand was this 2009 Halloween spot set to Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller.”

Zimmerman recently picked up creative lead duties on Nissan as the client restructured its relationship with Omnicom in North America. Hill Holliday, meanwhile, parted ways with John Hancock after over 30 years last month.

According to Kantar Media, Party City spent around $50 million in 2015 and $27 million from January to September of 2016.

R/GA has moved further into “traditional” agency turf by way of multinational tech conglomerate Samsung.

Multiple parties have confirmed that R/GA significantly expanded its global remit for the Korea-based company starting in late 2016. Earlier this week, the client’s North American CMO Marc Mathieu confirmed to Adweek that R/GA would be working on its “most ambitious marketing campaign yet” to promote the new Galaxy S8 phone along with W+K and design agency Turner Duckworth. (And then there was the Leo Burnett spot promoting Gear VR. Lots of moving parts here.)

The R/GA ads in question are not “live” yet, but they’re broadcast. And they play on nature themes.

Back in January, we posted on the client moving its global social media business to Bob Greenberg’s agency and away from Big Spaceship, which closed its Seoul office in December after losing AOR status. R/GA has been working with Samsung since it won a digital AOR review in 2013; the business had previously been with Razorfish for less than a year.

According to our sources, R/GA added broadcast TV to its expanding list of Samsung responsibilities for the first time beyond the digital and social media work. Beyond the Galaxy S8, R/GA will also be creating future campaigns to promote the client’s kitchen appliances division.

These wins happened around the same time as the social media transition, but it’s not clear whether there was a formal review because no one has spoken to us on the record.

An R/GA spokesperson deferred to the client for comment. Samsung PR has not responded in any way, shape or form to multiple emails and phone calls made over the past several weeks.

This is somewhat understandable given that the company has larger things on its mind including the launch of the new phone and the arrest of vice chairman and de facto CEO Jay Y. Lee, who is accused of colluding with now-former Korean president Park Geun-hye in a bribery scandal that led to her impeachment and removal from office. Yesterday, officials placed her under arrest on corruption charges.

Samsung also hopes that the Galaxy S8 will help eliminate all memory of the exploding phones that ultimately led to $3 billion or more in losses last year by the company’s own estimate.

Expect to see a lot more R/GA Samsung work to come.

Someone sent Carls Jr.’s sexist adverting back to the kitchen. No more tits and ass. Now, it’s about the meat, the menu, and the brand’s history of innovation. In case you’re not sure what you’re missing here, let’s revisit the recent past in Carl’s Jr. land. Team Tex, meet Team Mex. On 9.25.15, it’s game […]

The post Burger Pioneers Bump Frat Boys from The Carl’s Jr. Menu appeared first on AdPulp.

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.