Here we go again.
Less than four years after hiring The Martin Agency as its lead creative shop, the pizza chain is reviewing its creative business again.
Martin, an Interpublic Group shop based in Richmond, Va., plans to defend, an agency representative said. Select Resources International in Santa Monica, Calif. is managing the process.
Pizza Hut's media spending approached $245 million last year, up from nearly $235 million in 2011, according to Nielsen. Those figures don't include online spending.
The other finalist in the last creative review, which took place in the fall of 2009, was Gotham in New York. At the time, Martin succeeded longtime incumbent BBDO on the account. BBDO had worked on the brand since 1987.
Pizza Hut, which is based in Plano, Texas, acknowledged the search, saying that the chain was "looking at fresh ways to enhance" marketing and strengthen its connections with consumers.
Media planning and buying are not in play and remain at Optimedia. The Publicis Groupe agency landed that account in 2011, after another review. Select Resources managed that search as well.
