Sara Lee has named Arc Worldwide, Chicago, its agency of record for Sara Lee Food & Beverage promotions and co-marketing, after a four-month review. Arc will handle all brands, with work focused on Ball Park, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean and Senseo brands as well as flagship Sara Lee.
The company is ramping up new-product launches and plans to improve its customer management in fiscal 2007; both initiatives are part of a turnaround plan begun in 2005 (PROMO Xtra, Feb. 27, 2006). The company spent $177.8 million on measured media in 2005, and just under $38 million in first-quarter 2006, per TNS Media Intelligence.
The AOR win marks the first time that Arc has worked for Sara Lee. The account is big enough to put Sara Lee among Arc’s top clients.
The win helps compensate for the loss of marquee client Cadillac earlier this summer, when the General Motors brand dropped sister shop Leo Burnett Detroit. (Arc won the 2005 top PRO Award for the 2004 “Cadillac Under 5” campaign.) Arc continues to handle promotions for other GM brands, and keeps filling its new-business pipeline after a strong 2005, with wins from SABMiller, Gillette, Levi Strauss and Sprint.
Arc ranked No. 8 in the 2006 PROMO 100 with estimated 2005 net revenues of $114.8 million, up an estimated 20% from 2003.
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