"We're thrilled to announce that moving forward McGarryBowen
will be the advertising agency of record for Pizza Hut," a Pizza
Hut spokesman said in a statement. "We appreciate all of the time
and effort that each of the competing agencies put into this
opportunity and we saw world-class work throughout the process. We
wish all the best to The Martin Agency, Mullen and Havas but are
looking forward to starting this new partnership." Martin did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
McGarryBowen pitched the business out of both its New York and
Chicago offices, but the account will be run out of Chicago. Tim
Scott, president of McGarryBowen's Cicago office and international
CEO, said in reference to the Pizza Hut win that the shop looks
"forward to helping further build their business and brand as the
category leader."
It's the second piece of Pizza Hut business that's been parked
in the Windy City this year. Just before the marketer launched a
review, it awarded the WingStreet piece of the creative
account to O'Keefe, Reinhard & Paul, a new independent shop in
Chicago.
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Pizza Hut is the third-largest measured media spender among
owner Yum Brands' chains,
according to Kantar Media. In 2012, Pizza Hut spent about $240
million on U.S. measured media, while KFC spent about $263.5
million and Taco Bell spent about $280 million.
The win for McGarryBowen means that it once again has a major
fast-food brand among its clients. Eariler this year lead agency
duties for Burger King moved from McGarryBowen to Mother.
An immediate focus will likely be getting customers into
locations. Pizza Hut in the second quarter posted a same-store
sales decline of 2% in the U.S., while sibling chains Taco Bell
were up 2% and KFC was up 3%.
