Hasta La Creative!

Chuck E. Cheese has named Ft. Lauderdale-based agency Zimmerman Advertising as its lead agency, AdAge reports. The appointment concludes a review launched in April and conducted without a consultant. Zimmerman takes over for The Richards Group, which won creative and media duties for the brand back in 2012, and will be responsible for integrated creative, media, strategy and promotion. The brand spent approximately $28 million on measured media in 2014, according to Kantar Media.

Chuck E. Cheese has undergone significant changes recently, including new menu items, in an attempt to appeal more to adults and boost declining sales. According to research and consulting firm Technomic, the brand’s revenue fell from $428 million in 2009 to $365 million last year. The brand will keep its “Where a kid can be a kid” tagline but will continue its efforts to appeal more to parents.

“We have always been a restaurant focused on kids, but now we are also looking to improve the experience for parents,” Chuck E. Cheese chief marketing officer Michael Hartman told AdAge. “We need an agency able to keep up with our breakneck pace and hunger for consumer insight…we found Zimmerman shares our vision for success and obsession with metrics. They are the right agency at the right time to help us ring in a new era.”

Jamba Juice also named Zimmerman as its integrated agency partner, tasked with handling brand strategy, media, creative, social and analytic duties for the California-based chain. The brand had previously worked with specialists but made the decision to go with Zimmerman as its integrated agency of record. Jamba Juice chief marketing and innovation officer Julie S. Washington cited “Zimmerman’s retail experience, strategy and analytics, creative strength and focus on results” as the impetus for the selection. According to Zimmerman CEO Michael Goldberg, Jamba Juice stopped its review mid-process to commit to the agency.

For Zimmerman, the two account wins are the latest in a string of new business since the arrival of Goldberg last September from Deutsch. The agency has picked up ten new accounts since his arrival, and nine in 2015.

Adidas Golf has selected Venables Bell & Partners as its new lead creative agency following a review, Adweek reports. Incumbent Kastner & Partners were one of the six finalists in the review, which included ten agencies total. Media buying and planning were not part of the review and remain with Carat. Adidas Golf spent approximately $45 million on measured media last year, according to Kantar Media.

Kastner & Partners had worked with the brand for over three years, recently changing its approach to highlight golf as “as a sport with athletes of the highest caliber,” according to chief creative officer Jamie Riley. Riley joined Kastner & Partners from 72andSunny last September and we spoke to him about the agency’s recent campaign for Adidas Golf in February. The following month, however, it was revealed that he was leaving the agency, along with managing director Richard Turner.

Melissa Ziegler, global brand marketing director for Adidas Golf, told Adweek the brand’s shift in approach was the impetus for the review, saying, “We are shifting to be more aligned with the Adidas brand and the idea that golf is a sport, and golfers are athletes. So, we wanted to find a new agency partner that could really help us bring that to life.”

At the beginning of the month, Priceline announced it was in the early stages of a creative review and that incumbent agency Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, who have held the account since 2006, were participating. Now it appears the incumbent agency has opted out of the review.

“We feel that focusing on current clients, new clients and our new business pipeline is a better use of resources,” BSSP CEO Greg Stern told Adweek. “BSSP and Priceline have had a long, successful relationship—far longer than the average client-agency tenure. We wish them nothing but success in the future.”

The agency’s decision to opt out immediately preceded Priceline’s naming of seven semifinalists in the review, identified by Priceline chief marketing officer Brett Keller as Grey, Droga5, Arnold, BBDO, Leo Burnett, Venables Bell & Partners and The Martin Agency. “They’ve got a lot of great talent there,” he told Adweek, referring to Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners. “We would have loved to have seen them participate, but we completely respect and understand their decision.”

Priceline, which Kantar Media estimates spends $40 million on media annually, will visit the seven semifinalists to select finalists in the review next month. The review, which is being managed by Ark Advisors, is expected to conclude by the end of the summer.

Volvo has dropped Grey London as its global creative agency and will now run its creative out of the U.S., Sweden and China, Campaign reports. The agency will continue to work on global coordination and U.K. initaitves.

Grey London was named Volvo’s global creative agency in December of 2013, following a review which ended an over six-year relationship with Arnold. The agency debuted its first work for Volvo last September. Their most recent work for the brand is featured above. Campaign reports the upcoming work from the agency includes “a global print campaign, idents for Sky Atlantic and the second phase of its LifePaint safety product.”

The move follows Volvo’s selection of AKQA as its new digital agency in May, following an unannounced review, as the brand continues to shift its advertising strategy.

“On advertising, we have decided to go for global campaigns,” Alain Visser, senior vice-president, marketing, sales and customer service at Volvo., explained to Campaign. “The Avicii campaign [recently created by Forsman & Bodenfors] is an example of a truly global campaign. In the development of the global campaigns, we work with Grey New York, Grey Shanghai and Forsman & Bodenfors in Sweden, which all pitch for a creative concept.”

Lyft is in the midst of a creative review in search of an agency of record and has asked big agencies to pitch for the business, but in a video uploaded to YouTube yesterday (featured above) and accompanying Twitter post, Lyft calls on small “wildcard” agencies to take the last seat at the table.

In the video, Lyft states that they have invited large agencies to the review, “But we root for the little guys too” and outlines the rules for submission. Interested parties can submit a 60-second or shorter video, which must take place inside a Lyft vehicle and creatively embody the Lyft brand, to @Lyft with the hashtag #LyftWildcard by June 9th. The winner will then get to compete in the next round of the review.

For one example, here is the pitch from Made Movement of Colorado.

Not everyone is enthused by Lyft’s invitation, however. In AdAge, marketing consultant Rupal Parekh called it “a PR stunt veiled as an effort to make an agency search more hip and fun.” NSW/Swat CEO Richard Kirshenbaum, meanwhile, told Adweek that it was a “gimmick,” adding, “It’s a clever idea for somebody right out of school. But is it really interesting to people of experience and quality who know what they’re doing? The answer is ‘absolutely not.’”

Another hot take from Kyle Snarr of Tribal Worldwide:

#LyftWildcard embodies everything wrong with advertising’s current new biz mentality. More like #LyftFishingTrip. https://t.co/R8pt4rMeHh

— Kyle Snarr (@kyality) June 4, 2015

Lots of strong opinions on this one, though the consensus seems to be negative.

Online travel site Priceline is in the early stages of a creative review, Adweek reports. The company spent over $136 million in measured media last year, according to Kantar Media.

A Priceline rep told the publication that incumbent Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, who won the account back in 2006, is participating in the review. The rep said that despite high brand awareness from ads featuring William Shatner, the company is ” constantly looking for ways to keep the brand fresh and connect with consumers. So that’s what we’re doing.” Priceline’s rep also confirmed that Shatner, along with Big Bang Theory actress Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting remain under contract and will continue appearing in ads.

The review, which is being managed by New York’s Ark Advisors, is expected to conclude some time in September. Media buying and planning responsibilities are not included in the process and will remain at Ocean Media.

In other General Mills news, Adweek reported late last night that the company has launched a media review, its first in 14 years. General Mills spent $830 million in measured media last year, according to Kantar Media.

The Minneapolis-based company’s media buying and planning duties have been with Zenith Media since 2001, when the company consolidated with Zenith following a review open only to roster shops. General Mills joins a lengthy list of companies who have launched media reviews in the past six months (20 by Adweek’s calculations). This month alone has seen media reviews launched by the likes of Sony, Volkswagen Group, BASF, GoDaddy and P&G, the largest advertiser in the U.S.

“Today’s environment calls for exploring new avenues to reach and engage with our consumers,” a General Mills representative said in a statement. “General Mills is conducting a review to ensure we have the right agency partners for the future.”

The review process, which is being managed by Joanne Davis Consulting in New York, is expected to last until the fall.

Lincoln Financial Group is in the late stages of a creative review, with finalists briefed for final presentations, Adweek reports. According to the publication, Lincoln Financial spent around $25 million in measured media last year.

Incumbent Gyro, originally chosen by Lincoln Financial in November of 2011, at which time the agency debuted its “Chief Life Officer” campaign for the brand, is not participating in the review, which is being managed by Ark Advisors in New York. Adweek’s sources have identified the three finalists as Grey, FCB and Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners. Participating agencies have been briefed for final presentations, set for July, and will pitch out of their respective New York offices.

Petsmart has parted ways with agency of record GSD&M and decided to take most of its marketing in-house, just seven months after signing the agency and nine since issuing a creative review, AdAge reports. The company spent $113 million in U.S. measured media last year, according to Kantar Media.

The move follows the purchase of the company by a BC Partners-led consortium in December, a deal which was finalized in March. As a result of the deal, Eran Cohen replaced Phil Bowman as executive vice president, customer service as part of the company’s new leadership team — likely the impetus for the decision. Prior to issuing a creative review last August, the company had fielded much of its advertising in-house, so the move comes as a return to an older model following the company’s short-lived relationship with GSD&M. The announcement follows Land Rover’s decision at the end of March to move all of its advertising to in-house agency Spark44. That same month, Chobani announced it would be dropping Droga5 as its agency of record, in favor of “more in-house and project-based agency partners.”

“While we appreciate the efforts of GSD&M, we’ve decided not to continue our partnership with them,” Michelle Friedman, a spokeswoman at Petsmart, told AdAge. “We will resume management of all creative work with our in-house team.”

GSD&M, meanwhile, said in a statement, “We are proud of the work we created together and wish everyone at Petsmart the best during their transition.”

GSD&M’s work for the brand included “Partners in Pethood” (featured above), a campaign directed by Christopher Guest, which debuted during the Oscars.

The media reviews just keep on coming, as Sony has now become the latest to a launch a global review of its media business. “I can confirm that we are conducting a global media agency review,” a spokeswoman told AdAge. “It encompasses current media agency assignments for planning and buying.”

Sony spent $620.3 million on U.S. measured media in 2014, according to the publication. Its media business is currently divided between Interpublic’s UM (part of IPG’s Mediabrands) — who handles Sony Pictures, as well as pieces of Sony’s entertainment and electronics businesses — WPP’s Mediacom, who handles global media responsibilities for Sony’s mobile devices, and Dentsu’s Carat, who is responsible for Sony Playstation and the North American mobile business. “People familiar with the matter” told AdAge that these incumbents will likely be included in the review.

Sony, of course, joins a laundry list of advertisers who recently launched media reviews. Earlier today we shared news of Volkswagen Group’s global media review, while earlier this week BASF and GoDaddy launched global media reviews of their own. Last week, P&G, the largest advertiser in the U.S., launched a North American media review while SC Johnson concluded a review open only to roster shops by consolidating with PHD. That list is by no means exhaustive, as there are plenty of other advertisers, large and small, participating in Media Review Mania 2015.