Whirlpool Corp Shifts Entire Creative Investment and Launches Expansive In-House Agency

Whirlpool Corp is launching an expansive in-house agency and bringing a large part of its marketing investment in-house. Dubbed the World of Whirlpool Studios (WoW Studios), the in-house group is already over 100 employees large and will manage marketing duties for Whirlpool’s entire North American product portfolio including the Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, JennAir and Amana brands. Back in 2006, Whirlpool consolidated most of its marketing investment with Publicis Groupe, with Digitas later handling creative work. With the launch of WoW Studios, the brand will pull a majority of its investment out of Digitas. It will continue working with Spark Foundry on media, and Publicis agency MSL Global will retain the PR business. Whirlpool declined to reveal the amount of investment it’s pulling out of the holding company, but the agency has already begun transitioning work, including for the KitchenAid brand. All Whirlpool brands are expected to transition from Publicis by 2023. Award-Winning Whirlpool Campaign Showed How Clean Clothes Can Dramatically Affect Students' Success WoW Studios is an expansive in-house group that will cover North American region CX operations and strategy, creative and experience design, integrated and studio production and marketing sciences and digital delivery. WoW Studios’ senior director of consumer experience strategy, Jon Hall, compared it to digital agencies like R/GA. Hall designed the in-house agency’s structure from the ground up, structuring the in-house agency after conducting a large amount of research. Hall looked into various agency models, including bringing in a white labeled bespoke agency like Oliver. He also studied Spark44, Jaguar’s in-house agency, and spoke with CMOs across the industry before deciding that the best way forward was the in-house option. While working at Kraft Foods, Hall collaborated with FCB, Wieden+Kennedy, Crispin Porter Bogusky, TBWA\Chiat\Day and more. Getting closer to the brand Whirlpool is making the change to streamline its operations and mold them around the customer journey. Having an in-house agency means that agency employees have direct access to Whirlpool leaders and data, and puts creative talent next to brand partners and supply chain, merchandising, manufacturing and sales teams. “As consumer expectations evolve, we recognize that traditional marketing approaches are no longer enough. That is why we are focused on delivering an enhanced consumer experience across all of our brands and channels,” said Joe Liotine, chief operating officer of Whirlpool, in a statement. The agency has eight practice areas, spanning marketing sciences, CX strategy, CX operations, creative, experience design, experience technology and delivery, digital product management and production. While in-house agencies are now ubiquitous, few are as expansive as WoW Studios plans to be. By Hall’s estimates, the in-house model will increase the brand’s efficiency levels by at least 30%, accounting for both cost reductions and increased content outputs from dedicated employees. The agency’s headquarters are in Chicago’s Reid Murdoch building near the city’s Riverwalk. “We want to marry the brand knowledge with the creative expertise and agency knowledge and really bring in folks here who want to do great work but want to move the business as well,” said Otto Linwood III, head of WoW’s production and studio in North America. Bringing talent in-house also gives the brand the ability to take diversity into account when hiring and partnering with talent. Bringing top creative talent in-house Because WoW Studios was not yet formally launched, Whirlpool primarily relied on word of mouth to attract employees. It tapped into the advertising landscape and pulled creative leaders from top digital and creative agencies. Now it aims to increase its headcount to 250. Hiring is competitive, according to Hall, with just 2 to 5% of applicants receiving an offer to join the agency. A few of those competitive industry hires include Anita Puri, the agency’s head of operations, who came on ten months ago after working as an evp and group account director at Leo Burnett; Michael Frease, now Whirlpool’s head of creative in North America, who was previously an executive director at Digitas and worked at FCB; and Linwood, who came to Whirlpool after leading global creative production at Uber. Before that, Linwood worked for the McDonald’s bespoke agency We Are Unlimited and also held roles at DDB and Havas. “Our creatives are coming from agencies like Ogilvy and Leo Burnett and Energy BBDO and FCB. Most in-house agencies don't have integrated teams on the creative side like that,” said Hall. Publicis Groupe declined to comment on this story, although a source close to the matter said that Digitas does not plan to lay off any of the talent working on the Whirlpool account. State of In-House Agencies: Why They Aren't Expected to Shrink Anytime Soon

In-House Agencies

Whirlpool Corp Shifts Entire Creative Investment and Launches Expansive In-House Agency

The brand revamped its marketing strategy and already has over 100 employees

Olivia Morley

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Olivia Morley