12 agency reviews to know about

2025 is here, and with it a plethora of new business reviews and shifts. Below, Ad Age lists 12 agency reviews to know about this month. Do you know about another review not listed here? Send an email to aatips@adage.com. And stay up to date with several ongoing pitches with our Agency Review Tracker, exclusive to All Access subscribers. Autodesk Autodesk hired Giant Spoon as its first creative agency of record. The independent agency will manage the San Francisco-based design software company’s brand campaigns, creative assets and strategy. It will also support Autodesk’s media efforts, working closely with the company’s in-house team. Under the leadership of Chief Marketing Officer Dara Treseder, Autodesk’s marketing approach has focused on linking itself to newsy events, such as its role in restoring the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. Benjamin Moore Benjamin Moore retained Fig following a creative review managed by Joanne Davis Consulting. The indie shop referred calls to comment to the client, which confirmed the agency’s appointment. Fig has worked on some notable campaigns for the 140-year-old paint company. In 2023, the agency helped launch ads meant to target a younger audience. The spots were created with the intent of being able to translate to TikTok or Instagram Reels. Benjamin Moore’s ad spend is slowing. It spent $11 million on U.S. measured media in the first three quarters of 2024, per MediaRadar. That compares to $33 million for 2023 as a whole. Driven Brands Driven Brands, the operator of auto service retailers, overhauled its agency roster and named Dagger as its creative agency of record for Take 5 Oil and Take 5 Car Wash. Other agencies on the roster include Tombras, a newcomer, and Charlotte, North Carolina-based shop Mythic, which has worked on Driven Brands’ businesses including Maaco, Take 5 and Carstar. Driven Brands’ advertising expenses exceeded $97 million in 2023, according to its annual filing. While it’s unclear how much each brand spends on advertising, Take 5 is likely in the lead. FanDuel Casino FanDuel Casino, the online casino arm of FanDuel, appointed Orchard Creative as its creative agency of record. The decision was made following a competitive review that ended late last year. The online platform, which debuted as a standalone app in 2020, had worked with Mischief @ No Fixed Address since 2022. In the first three quarters of 2024, FanDuel Casino spent $62 million on U.S. measured media, outpacing the $61 million it spent in 2023 as a whole, according to MediaRadar. Ikea Ikea is conducting a review for its U.S. creative business. The review is in the early stages and is being handled internally by the Swedish home goods retailer. Ikea confirmed the review is ongoing. Ogilvy currently handles Ikea’s U.S. creative account. The WPP agency also works with Ikea in other regions, including the Middle East. The creative review comes shortly after a U.S. media agency change. In September, the company started working with Dentsu’s Carat, moving on from Wavemaker, part of WPP’s GroupM, after more than six years. Jared Jewelry retailer Jared is conducting a review for a creative agency of record, a company spokesperson confirmed. The pitch is in the early stages and being supported by SRI International. There is no incumbent. McKinney worked with Jared in 2018, unveiling a new brand campaign aimed at appealing to a younger group of consumers after the jeweler retired the tagline, “He went to Jared.” That relationship ended in 2020, according to an agency spokesperson. Jared had U.S. measured-media spending of $44 million in the first three quarters of 2024, according to data from MediaRadar. It spent $87 million on U.S. measured media during 2023. JCPenney JCPenney hired Mischief @ No Fixed Address to manage its creative business as the beleaguered department store chain marches forward with turnaround efforts. The indie agency, which won the business without a formal review, aims to help the embattled company stand out as an ‘unabashedly’ great shopping destination. There was no incumbent on the account. Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark wrapped its global creative and media review, splitting responsibilities between Interpublic Group of Cos., Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe and WPP. Omnicom Media Group won the global media account except for North America and South Korea, while WPP picked up creative duties for all of K-C’s adult care and childcare brands. IPG nabbed creative duties for family care and feminine care brands. Publicis held onto the U.S. business, and picked up the Canada account “to provide holistic work for North America media,” according to a K-C statement. The review, designed to consolidate the company’s agency roster, was a part of the company’s Powering Care strategy. Powering Care is a $1.5 billion restructuring program Kimberly-Clark launched last year. MassMutual MassMutual appointed 72andSunny New York as its new creative agency of record. The Springfield, Massachusetts-based insurer had worked with Grey since 2021, and before that Johannes Leonardo. The agency change, which came without a formal review, comes as MassMutual focuses on the promotion of certain products, such as its wealth management offering, rather than long-term brand work. Panera Bread Panera Bread named 72andSunny as its new creative agency as the casual dining chain looks to modernize and reintroduce the brand after a year of simplifying its menu. The Stagwell-owned agency replaces Mother, which had held the account since late 2020. (Mother did not defend the business.) The review was handled by Pile and Company and took about eight weeks. Panera had U.S. measured-media spending of $140 million in the first three quarters of 2024, according to data from MediaRadar, and $187 million in 2023. The chain ranked 11th in Nation’s Restaurant News 2024 restaurant rankings, which are based on system-wide domestic sales from the previous year. Panera’s U.S. systemwide sales totaled $6.5 billion in 2023, up from $6.3 billion in 2022, according to the rankings. The chain has over 2,200 domestic locations, according to its website. Panera is owned by JAB Holding Company, which also owns Keurig Dr Pepper, Pret, Peet’s and Krispy Kreme. Sam’s Club Sam’s Club launched a comprehensive agency review, with incumbents Arnold and Horizon Media defending their accounts, and rival holding companies expected to participate. Along with creative and media, the scope of the review also includes social, influencer, production and data duties. Pitches are expected to take place in mid-March with a final decision in May, with the new assignment(s) taking effect in June. Publicis Groupe handles Walmart’s media duties through Publicis Media and its bespoke PubW unit and Walmart’s creative duties through the bespoke Dept W, and is expected to participate in the Sam’s Club review. WPP, whose VML previously handled Sam’s Club from 2021 to 2023, is also expected to participate, as are Stagwell and Dentsu, according to a person familiar with the matter. Starbucks Starbucks hired Stagwell’s Anomaly to handle its U.S. creative business just a few months after selecting a bespoke WPP team for the work. WPP will remain on the roster as needed, but there aren’t any immediate plans for the holding company. Also: Watch Starbucks’ first ad from Anomaly The about-face came after the Seattle-based coffee giant in mid-October announced the hiring of Tressie Lieberman as chief brand officer, giving the former Yahoo and Chipotle executive oversight of marketing, product development, digital, creative and analytics. She joined Starbucks days after the WPP appointment was announced. ICYMI In December, New York-based indie agency Partners + Napier won Royal Caribbean International’s creative business. In November, BlackRock hired Mother as its global creative agency of record, with the indie agency’s remit initially focused on marketing the financial firm’s iShares exchange-traded fund.

12 agency reviews to know about

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