El Pollo Loco in Costa Mesa hired Vitro as its creative agency of record following a competitive review.
The San Diego-based ad shop will oversee research, strategy, production and creative for television, radio, digital and out-of-home advertising for the fire-grilled chicken chain, which is expected to put more than $25 million into advertising next year.
The agency also works with Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. in Cypress. It ended ties last year with Irvine-based ASICS America Corp., an account it had had since mid-1990s. The footwear company now works with 180LA in Los Angeles.
Vitro replaces Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners in Sausalito, which had the El Pollo Loco account since 2012. The review included 25 agencies, but not the incumbent, which declined an invitation to participate, according to El Pollo Loco Chief Marketing Officer Ed Valle.
Vitro’s prior work for ASICS, as well as the “strong vision and creative approach to driving brand distinctiveness and restaurant-level performance” it proposed for El Pollo Loco, tipped the scales in its favor, Valle said.
The chain is targeting “Main Street foodies” who have “a more sophisticated food palate” and are “looking for more interesting flavor combinations, as well as the stories behind the brand.”
“Vitro is a storyteller with vision who has the ability to celebrate who we are and tell stories against that vision for a long period of time and that’s what was really appealing about them,” he said.
A new marketing campaign is scheduled to debut early next year. It will focus on “who we are and the things that we do,” Valle said. “Although we started out in Mexico, we grew up in Los Angeles, so we look to incorporate all those kinds of things into the campaign.”
Branching Out
Philadelphia-based Harmelin Media, which came on board in July, will handle media buying, replacing Milner Butcher Media Group in Los Angeles.
In the past, El Pollo Loco’s ad placements were mostly broadcast, Valle said. “We brought Harmelin in because we wanted a more diversified media plan. They have the capability of not only bringing us the TV, which has worked well for us, but also a combination of other channels like radio, digital and social media that allows us to reach more people and not just broadly, but reach them one-on-one, as well.”
Changing Market
El Pollo Loco has 449 company-owned and franchised restaurants, competing with the usual complement of fast-food chains ranging from Kentucky Fried Chicken to Chipotle Mexican Grill. It also draws customers of fast-casual entries, such as Huntington Beach-based BJ’s Restaurants Inc. and Johnny Rockets Restaurant Group in Lake Forest.
Food categories are “in flux and traditional tiers are changing,” Valle said. “You have to position yourself correctly for the future, and I think we wound up doing that by … [bringing] real food to real people at reasonable prices on Main Street. It’s just a category that everybody, including fast-casual and casual, need to look at very hard and understand how they’re going to be differentiated within it as it evolves.”
