Irvine’s DraftFCB has started work on the recently consolidated account for San Francisco-based Del Monte Foods Co.’s pet food and pet treat brands.
DraftFCB won the work after reaching out to William Pearce, the chief marketing officer at Del Monte to congratulate him on his new post.
“We wanted to say congratulations and let him know if he needed anything, we were here to help,” said Hilary Hamer, senior vice president of group management director at DraftFCB.
DraftFCB previously worked with Pearce when he served as chief marketing officer at Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp.
The agency, part of New York-based Interpublic Group of Cos., first started working for Del Monte on its Pup-Peroni dog snacks and now oversees Del Monte’s pet-food division, Hamer said.
The line includes Meow Mix, Kibbles ‘n Bits, 9Lives, Gravy Train and Pounce.
The Irvine office is overseeing all the creative work for the brands and handling ad planning for traditional media, digital and non-traditional formats.
Work on the rest of the Del Monte pet account is split between DraftFCB’s San Francisco and New York offices, which will oversee the pet treat brands including Pup-Peroni and Milk Bone.
The brands originally were handled by several agencies including New York-based Omnicom Group Inc.’s TraceyLocke.
|
|
RoseRyan’s damned recession campaign: marketing to companies who have scaled back |
The Irvine office is in the early stages of learning about the brands.
“We’re learning that it’s extremely competitive marketplace as pets have become part of the family,” Hamer said. “The consumer is out looking for what’s best for their pet on very crowded shelves.”
A few Del Monte competitors include Alpo and Purina, both part of Switzerland’s Nestl & #233; SA, and Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc.’s Science Diet brand, part of New York-based Colgate-Palmolive Co.
DraftFCB’s first work for Del Monte will begin rolling out next year, beginning with a large-scale marketing push for Pup-Peroni.
No word if the catchy Meow Mix jingle will be updated.
“We haven’t even started the Meow Mix transition yet,” Hamer said. “No decisions have been made.”
Del Monte spent $20 million to $30 million in advertising last year, according to trade publication AdvertisingAge.
The shop did not reveal whether Del Monte was looking to boost its marketing spending in 2009.
Doner Adds Creative Director
W.B. Doner & Co. has brought on Napper Tandy as a creative director for its Newport Beach office.
Tandy originally served in Torrance at Saatchi & Saatchi, part of France’s Publicis Groupe SA, on the agency’s Toyota account. That experience should come in handy on Doner’s work for the U.S. arm of Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp. in Irvine.
“Mazda really wanted someone on ground here,” Tandy said.
Doner recently launched two campaigns for the Mazda3 and Mazda6.
“We’re catching people’s attention with a new message called ‘Mazdanomics’ paired with our ‘Zoom Zoom’ campaign,” said Tim Blett, president of the Newport Beach office.
Irvine’s Mazda North American Operations reported its November sales were down 31% from a year earlier. Sales for the year through November were down 9%. Both are in line with the auto industry’s slump.
Doner would not disclose whether Mazda’s ad spending would be up or down this year.
“The key is to spend where you can tap into what make consumers tick,” Blett said.
In addition to the Mazda work, Tandy is expected to help out on the shop’s other clients including Lake Forest-based Del Taco LLC, part of Tennessee-based Sagittarius Brands Inc., and Hawaii-based Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine, part of Florida-based OSI Restaurant Partners LLC.
Tandy will report to the shop’s chief creative officer Rob Strasberg.
Quirky Marketing
RoseRyan Inc. is looking to sell its services to companies that have laid off workers with a new advertising campaign.
RoseRyan has offices in Irvine, Northern California and San Diego and provides interim or part-time chief financial officers and accountants for companies.
The company’s “Damned Recession” campaign is part of a long-term marketing strategy.
“For this last campaign, we do have empathy for those left behind after the layoffs that still have all this work to do,” said Mike Rose, chief executive at RoseRyan. “We thought we would have a little fun with it and get people’s attention.”
The campaign was designed by San Francisco-based Bigmouth LLC, which has worked with RoseRyan for the past four years.
The company isn’t looking to cut back on its marketing, according to Rose.
“We don’t want to cut back, but build on this and stay top of mind,” he said.
The company has several campaigns planned for the year including a campaign around its new technical account group and is currently concepting a series of YouTube-style films called RoseRyan Films for the Internet.
Bits and Pieces:
Irvine-based Fisker Automotive Inc. has brought on Russell Datz to be director of public relations for the green sports car maker. The company’s first and so far only car model, the Karma, is set to roll out in late 2010. Datz will oversee the company’s communications and help oversee the marketing department Irvine-based ChopShop Entertainment Inc. produced a half-hour television show for Austria’s Red Bull GMBH featuring the wakeboarding competition WakeLab in Orlando, Fla. Shot in high-definition, the show will air sometime this year on Fuel TV, part of New York-based News Corp. Irvine-based Morgan Marketing & Public Relations LLC has been hired by Huntington Beach-based Malibu Fish Grill to help with media relations and increase awareness of the restaurant’s advertising campaigns. The restaurant chain has three locations,in Santa Ana, Huntington Beach and Redondo Beach,and serves seafood, chicken and steak.
