Panera hires 72andSunny as its creative agency

Panera Bread has 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. “We are on a journey here to re-embrace the core of what Panera is,” said Mark Shambura, Panera’s chief marketing officer, who joined the brand last August from Papa Johns. “We started simplifying the business over the last nine months to focus on our top sellers—soups, salads, sandwiches and mac and cheese. We needed a partner who can help us dig deep into our heritage, but reimagine it in a culturally relevant way for today.” Also read: Multiple restaurants are mounting comebacks The review was handled by Pile and Company and took about eight weeks, according to Shambura, who said new work will be introduced in the first half of the year. NextGen Marketing Summit Join us for a crash course on Gen Z, DTC marketing and the creator economy Register today “Panera fosters incredible memories for so many people; our job is to build on those memories while giving people new reasons to love the brand,” Geoff McHenry, executive strategy director, 72andSunny New York, said in a statement. The hiring comes as Panera looks to enter its “innovation phase,” as Shambura put it, after slimming down the brand’s menu last year. The innovations will use limited-time offerings to build on core menu items. He pointed to two new meals that are already in restaurants: ciabatta dippers (a French dip sandwich meant to be dipped in French onion soup or a grilled chicken sandwich paired with tomato soup) and asiago bagel stacks sandwiches (an attempt to carry fans’ love of the bagel into lunch or dinner). Below, an ad for the new dippers. “The core challenge we are trying to solve is how do we make existing guests look at us in a new and dynamic way and make new consumers see what we have to offer,” Shambura said. “When I think about expanding our base, the breadth and depth of our menu allows us to speak to so many audiences. If they are feeling healthy, we have soups and salads. If they want something more indulgent, we have our mac and cheese.” Like other brands, Panera is also keeping value in mind. Shambura said that part of last year’s menu transformation was improving the chain’s barbell pricing to give new consumers several “entry points” into the brand. He noted that the new bagel sandwiches are $7.99. Agency Review Tracker Stay up to date with the latest account reviews Click here 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. Panera Brands CEO José Alberto Dueñas resigned just last week after a year and a half in the role. Chief Financial Officer Paul Carbone will serve as interim CEO. Shambura said he was not concerned about having to re-do the agency review process when another CEO is brought in. “Paul has been a consistent part of this business for many years and is a restaurant veteran,” he said. “We have the right strategy in place, and Paul is steady-stating it.” The account adds to a recent win streak by 72andSunny that has included Choice Hotels, Adobe and General Motors (Cadillac).

Panera hires 72andSunny as its creative agency

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