Ferrero Group overhauls its global creative roster—here are the big winners

Ferrero Group has moved its global creative business under three holding companies following a massive competitive review designed to cut costs and consolidate creative duties. Interpublic Group of Cos.’ McCann Worldgroup picked up creative responsibilities for Kinder and Tic Tac in Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, the agency confirmed. This is another significant win for IPG after, earlier this week, the holding company expanded its relationship with Kellanova, the snacks marketer spun off from Kellogg Co. in 2023. Agency Review Tracker Stay up to date with the latest account reviews Click here Publicis Groupe has also been selected to support the aforementioned regions, along with some work in North America, but Ferrero Group declined to specify which agencies are involved and the brands they are handling. Publicis Groupe declined comment. Stagwell’s Anomaly will handle some of Ferrero Group’s North American creative business, the company told Ad Age. Anomaly will oversee Kinder and six other “important” North America brands, including cookie business Keebler, according to a person familiar with the matter. Ferrero Group in a statement said the pitch was designed to “streamline its global agency portfolio and accelerate group digitalization, with new partners to support its global creative initiatives and digital acceleration for Ferrero’s portfolio of brands in Europe, North America, Middle East and Asia. New work is expected to commence in September 2024.” Several people familiar with the process previously told Ad Age that Ferrero’s review was designed to cut costs and consolidate creative duties for the marketer’s numerous brands, which formerly were spread among many agencies. Multiple sources previously said Ferrara Candy Company, a Chicago-based company related to Ferrero, was not part of the review. See all of the 2024 Small Agency award winners here Grey has worked with the Luxembourg-based food marketer on a project basis outside the U.S. The WPP agency, also believed to have participated in the review, declined to comment. Ferrero Group spent more than $1.4 billion on global advertising in 2023, according to COMvergence. The company also owns brands including 100 Grand, Baby Ruth, Blue Bunny, Butterfinger, Crunch, Ferrero Rocher, Halo Top and Raisinets. Dentsu’s iProspect handles the majority of Ferrero Group’s global media business, including the U.S. region, which it was awarded in March. McCann will manage all Ferrero Group brands in Mexico, according to Campaign. A person familiar with the matter said Ferrero Group is still in the process of determining some specific brands that Anomaly and Publicis will handle. Some U.S. brands have not yet been made aware of agency changes, one person close to the situation said. Ferrero Group has worked with many agencies for its various brands, including indie shop Terri & Sandy, which has led Nutella’s U.S. creative business since 2019. Terri & Sandy declined to comment. Stagwell started working with Ferrero Group ice cream brands Blue Bunny and Halo Top in 2022. Havas has also done some business with Ferrero. Havas declined comment. Ferrero Group had U.S. measured-media spending of $378 million in 2023, according to Vivvix, which includes paid social data from Pathmatics, up from the $207 million it spent in 2022.

Ferrero Group overhauls its global creative roster—here are the big winners

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