The bulk of the account -- national creative and media duties --
still remain in play. And Barkley still declines to participate in
the review.
"We are reviewing pieces of the business, because it's important
for the Sonic Drive-In brand to ensure we have the best possible
roster of agency resources," Sonic Chief Marketing Officer Danielle
Vona said in a statement. "We are pleased that Barkley will
continue as an important part of that roster as we also review
additional partners."
Asked to explain the reason for staying on as one of Sonic's
agencies, Barkley CEO Jeff King said, "We looked at the many
aspects of the business we handle for them. ... As I sat down with
the client and we started talking about all the things we partner
on, it made a lot of sense to still partner in several areas."
"The reason we declined to participate in the review is because
we don't think that's the best use of our time," Mr. King said,
noting "there are elements of the business that are not in review,
things we do very well, that they are not going to review, and
we're excited to continue as their partner in those areas."
Still, the loss of the large creative and media portions of
Sonic's account are a blow for Barkley, and it's "still really too
early to tell" to what degree staffing levels at the agency will be
impacted.
Sonic in the first half of 2010 spent $64.5 million on
advertising, according to Kantar Media. The company in 2009 spent
$155.5 million, and $132.2 million in 2008.
~ ~ ~
Contributing: Rupal Parekh
