Building the Whopper
McCann snares adult ad account; kids, promotion picks imminent.
Burger King last month began assembling its new marketing network by naming McCann-Erickson to handle the adult creative portion of its $400 million advertising account. The Miami-based chain was expected to announce decisions on separate reviews for kids’ advertising and promotion work by this month.
McCann’s New York City office won out over Campbell Mithun, Minneapolis, and Grey Worldwide, New York City, in the final stage of the review because of its “key strategic approach to our business overall” and its insight into consumer needs, says vp-marketing Richard Taylor.
A media release announcing the decision expressed gratitude to Lowe Lintas, New York City, for its “professionalism” over the last few months. Burger King officially dropped the agency last November after an eight-year alliance. The chain is retaining UniWorld, New York City, for African-American advertising and Bromley Communications, San Antonio, for Hispanic efforts.
McCann’s first work is expected this spring. The inaugural campaign has tested extremely well and should “really break through with consumers,” says Taylor. It should also have a long life, he says.
Dividing the creative account into pieces for adults and kids “is a great opportunity to allow our agencies to focus,” he adds. “Our kids’ agency will be able to devote [itself] to reaching kids and parents.”
One of the main goals of the ultimate kids’ creative agency will presumably be helping Burger King make its first concerted stab at attracting children under three. The chain has a one-year deal with Sassy Baby Products to supply premiums on an ongoing basis (January PROMO).
Meanwhile, the promotion marketing industry anxiously awaits the conclusion of the review for BK’s $200 million-plus promotion account, which had incumbents Alcone Marketing, Irvine, and Equity Marketing, Los Angeles, being challenged by Chicago-based Upshot, Zipatoni of St. Louis, and Ryan Partnership, Westport, CT. The chain reportedly also spoke with DVC, Morristown, NJ, and DraftWorldwide, Chicago.
More Paring at Promotions.com Online marketing shop Promotions.com, New York City, in December announced a 25-percent cut in its workforce and a repositioning that fully focuses the company on its agency business.
The moves complete Promotions.com’s year-long push to establish itself as a marketing partner for clients rather than a consumer-focused Web sweepstakes operator (March 2000 PROMO). To that end, the company’s Custom Solutions group will now assume the Promotions.com name.
“It’s taken us awhile to get the agency to stand on its own,” says co-founder and ceo Steven Krein. While most revenues are still derived from sponsorships at the company’s Webstakes.com consumer site, that should change. The agency is already proving itself to be a better source of profits, says Krein. “And our focus right now is on the bottom-line numbers.”
The agency business is led by executive vp Chris Bragas and vp Steve Caputo, two long-time veterans of Don Jagoda Associates who were hired in summer 1999 to develop the former Webstakes.com’s client-centric expertise. The company is looking to eliminate market perception of it as a sweepstakes house and “align ourselves with the broader category of promotion,” says Krein. Agency-side clients have included Kraft Foods, Dunkin’ Donuts, Warner Bros., and Universal Studios.
“Our long-term strategy has always been to be a full-service promotion agency with an Internet-centric focus,” says Bragas, who has 45 staffers at his disposal. The company recently launched campaigns for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Excedrin and NBC, which is tying its network and NBCi Web site together through a Valentine’s Day contest.
Coupled with an October downsizing (November 2000 PROMO), the latest round of pink slips brings the company’s headcount down to 100. Most of the positions were eliminated from the Webstakes.com operation, which remains under the guidance of division president Kenneth Grasso. Webstakes.com works well as an “incubator” of client relationships, and also supplies the company with a sizable database of consumers who’ve opted in to receive promotional offers, says Krein. The site currently has 7.5 million demographic profiles in its database.
“Our focus right now is to get this business running properly, and we’ll continue to evaluate all of our options,” says Krein, when asked if Promotions.com has a viable future as an independent company.
