NEW YORK A combination of shrewd business insights and a broad array of marketing ideas won the day for The Kaplan Thaler Group in its successful pitch for lead creative duties on Wendy's, according to CMO Ken Calwell. In an interview with Adweek senior reporter Andrew McMains, Calwell reflected on the review process, how Kaplan Thaler brought its ideas to life and the next phase of the restaurant chain's review of all marketing services, which will focus on media, public relations and multi-cultural efforts.
Adweek: How did you lay the groundwork for finding a new lead creative agency?
Ken Calwell: Number one, we got this brand book and brand strategy established. Part of our turnaround plan that we spent quite a bit of time on building really established clearly who our target is, what our positioning is. We measured it. We quantitatively tested all that with consumers to find out that that positioning and target is a strong place to be for this brand. [This provided] a foundation for the agency search. We were able to share all that information with each of the five finalists.
Didn't you ask the finalists to put forth partners for media and other disciplines?
We said, "When you come in and pitch it, come in as the lead agency ... but also, bring whatever partners you want to bring along to that." Those could be current partners. ... Kaplan came in with MediaVest, Saatchi X. Different agencies approached that different ways. We were very open to that.
What's the next step in your ongoing review of all marketing services?
Right now, with Kaplan specifically, we're going to spend some more time just to see their overall vision for this idea-led agency model. We saw some of it, obviously, as part of the pitch. We also have some strong views on that. So, we're going to spend some time making sure that really lines up.
Even though you asked the creative agencies to pitch with partners, you're now considering public relations, multi-cultural and media duties separately.
Yes. We're [taking it] a step at a time. We really want to do it right the first time. So, that means it goes a little slower. ... It also means you're bringing people along and they're owning it along with you. We thought if we started with our lead agency, saw ... what we could accomplish and then had them work through [the rest of the review process] with us [that would be best].
What impressed you about Kaplan Thaler's pitch?
They shared a lot of very strong creative ideas that were very complex and multimedia in scope, and very comprehensive from a vertical and horizontal integration standpoint. They gave us great vision. They concentrated, obviously, on the media forms closest to them, but they showed their capabilities across a broader range.
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