After the breakup with Wieden & Kennedy — in which the agency dumped the brand, rather than vice versa — Starbucks has selected Omnicom agency BBDO New York as its agency of record. The decision followed a competitive review.
“Already, we have seen an indication of the kind of fresh thinking, new energy and strong sense of partnership BBDO brings to the brand,” said Terry Davenport, SVP and CMO of Starbucks, in a statement.
This comes as Starbucks has had a rough year. The coffee maker has been closing down retail stores, about 600 in the US. In its fourth quarter financial results, the firm reported that sales at US stores fell 8%, which was attributed to deteriorating store traffic and a decline in the average transaction size.
The first official BBDO-led campaign is expected to debut next year.
