PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay snacks division yesterday said it will move its promotion and retail merchandising account to Dallas-based TLP, Inc. in 2002. The account, estimated to be worth more than $100 million in billings, has been handled by Frankel for the last three years.
The move was made to combine “the marketing scale of Frito-Lay North America and Pepsi-Cola North America for all consumer promotions and customer marketing,” the company said in a statement. Frankel and long-time Pepsi shop TLP were both considered for the combined account, and “we are convinced each is highly capable of managing our business,” says Frito-Lay senior vp-marketing John Compton.
TLP had deeper ties with Pepsi than Frankel did with Frito-Lay. In addition to its relationship with the soda giant’s brand marketing group, it also works with its fountain and international divisions and its sales and marketing group. TLP operates more than 20 branch offices within Pepsi locations.
The 88-year-old agency, which still goes by the original Tracy Locke Partnership name in some settings, is also agency of record for some of Pepsi’s largest bottlers; the support of the bottlers was a major factor in the shop’s win, according to a source close to the review. “Since the goal is to tighten our focus and build scale … we ultimately selected TLP,” says Compton.
Tapping TLP also deepens PepsiCo’s ties to Omnicom Group, New York City, which solidified its standing as the company’s lead advertising agency by taking on the Gatorade, Tropicana, Aquafina, and other ancillary brands last fall.
The Frito-Lay account could boost TLP’s total billings more than 20 percent next year and add $10 million-plus in net revenues. The shop ranked No. 32 on the 2001 PROMO 100 with $64.6 million in net revenues. Conversely, the loss could drop Frankel’s billings by 15 percent and its $99.6 million in net revenues (which ranked it 14th on PROMO’s annual list) by about 10 percent.
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