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.