Ace Hardware has selected O’Keefe, Reinhard & Paul as its lead creative agency following a review, AdAge reports. The company spent $63 million on measured media in 2014, according to Kantar Media.
Incumbent GSD&M had been Ace Hardware’s lead agency since 2009 and did not participate in the review. Media buying and planning were not part of the review, and remain with Publicis’ Spark. According to AdAge’s sources, the other finalists in the review were the Chicago offices of FCB, Escape Pod and Schafer Condon Carter. It is unclear when new work from OKRP can be expected. The agency was launched in March of 2013 by former FCB executives Tom O’Keefe and Nick Paul and is perhaps best known for its work on behalf of client Big Lots, for which the agency has served as agency of record since January of 2014.
Jeff Gooding, senior director of consumer marketing and advertising at Ace Hardware, cited the agency’s small business mindset and understanding of the company’s culture in the decision, telling AdAge, “Their insights and creative were strong and straightforward, and we’re a straightforward company.”