Frankel & Co. will triple its billings with Frito-Lay, Inc. to an estimated $100 to $125 million as it takes over promotional and retail merchandising activities for all of the Plano, TX-company’s brands.
Expanding from the role of handling Frito’s kids promotions on an assignment basis – such as the restaging of Cracker Jack and an upcoming tie-in promo with the new Star Wars movie – Frankel now takes on marketing duties for brands including Lays, Doritos, Tostitos, Cheetos, and WOW!
The Chicago-based agency captured the business as agency of record after an eight-week review in which Frito tested Frankel’s ideas against those of TLP, Dallas, the other incumbent.
As the business transitions to Frankel over the next three months, Frankel will add “25 to 30” new employees to the 35-person Frito-Lay team, whose first-class performance over the past year set the stage for the account win, Frankel sources say.
Kim Lloyd, vp-account director, and Robert Balick, senior vp-group creative director, led the Frito team that has worked on such projects as Planet Lunch over the past year and pitched for the new business. Frito liked Frankel’s ideas on branding, its understanding of co-branding, and its approach to retail marketing, says Lloyd.
“We approached it very much from a branding point of view, combined with a strong retail orientation on how to bring the brand to life in the store,” Lloyd says. “We want to build brands that sell.”
The Frito team began work on Cracker Jack’s repositioning last March, focusing on restaging the prize. In updating the Planet Lunch continuity program, Frankel developed an interactive 3-D permanent display and a new mix of prizes, created a “lunchies language,” and renamed points “ploids.” “We saw an opportunity to bring it to life in new ways and make it more proprietary so it adds to the brand-building,” says Balick.
Goodby Silverstein is Cracker Jack’s ad agency. Frito consolidated all of its other advertising with BBDO Worldwide last spring.
Frankel has developed an “event” promo of international scope for a tie-in with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace this spring.
How will the Frankel approach to the new salty snack business differ from TLP’s? Not likely in the tactical mix, but with “a much more strategic approach to promotion” that includes vertical integration with advertising, says Lloyd.
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