-By Adweek Staff

BOSTON Beech-Nut said it has hired Palio Communications in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., as its lead marketing partner.

Dennis Warner, vp, marketing communications at the client, said: "We're really excited to partner with them for strategy, research and creative needs. As a matter of fact, their insights were so in-sync with the direction we're taking the company, we've already begun using some of their ideas."

Palio, a unit of inVentiv Health, is best known for handling health-related brands and has worked on projects for GlaxoSmithKline.

"We've got a tremendous talent pool here with experience that runs the gamut from nutritional, to automotive, financial services, fashion, travel, packaged goods and, of course, healthcare. Beech-Nut is the first major consumer packaged-goods brand we've had the opportunity to pitch and it fits perfectly with our plans for Palio," said Guy Mastrion, global chief creative officer at Palio.

Albany, N.Y.-based Beech-Nut spends about $5 million annually on ads, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. The client last worked with Schupp Co. in St. Louis.

Schupp last year broke a print-based effort for Beech-Nut that portrayed two new baby-food lines as "Simply a better choice."

Beech-Nut is the No. 2 player in the $800 million-plus segment behind Gerber.