The Milk Processor Education Program, a marketing and education group funded by U.S. milk companies, selected Gale to lead its marketing efforts following a full agency review.
MilkPEP, as it is known, promotes the overall dairy milk industry through messages including “Got Milk?” which it brought back in August in work from Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Weber Shandwick.
Now, MilkPEP has chosen MDC Partners’ creative media consultancy Gale as its new lead agency.
“I want to thank the incumbent agency for a partnership that lasted over 20 years,” Yin Woon Rani, CEO of MilkPEP, said in a statement. “Today, with the accelerated speed at which we need to market, MilkPEP required tighter integration between strategy, creative, brand and media, which meant we set out to hire one organization that could deliver on each of these needs in a cohesive manner.”
The dairy milk group has been emphasizing the beverage as a go-to item for families with kids, especially during the pandemic. More meals are being eaten at home, which is where milk drinkers already consume most of their milk. And after the initial burst of stock-up trips led to rapid growth, the milk industry was eager to keep that momentum going with the “Got Milk?” messaging. And in January, MilkPEP linked up with General Mills to promote the iconic duo of cereal and milk.
Dairy milk faces rising competitive pressure from non-dairy alternatives such as oat milk from the likes of Oatly and Chobani. On Tuesday, Starbucks began offering Oatly at all of its U.S. shops.
“With data driving today’s marketing, we also needed a partner who was insights-driven at the core,” Rani added.
