Well, the official word trickled into the inbox a bit late on this, but nonetheless, in case you haven’t heard, Grey has taken over as national AOR for Papa John’s (will this affect his Peyton Manning bonding sessions? Only time will tell). From what we’ve been told, Grey beat out Arnold, BBDO and Doner for the pizza chain’s biz , which calls for a refresh of TV creative as well as integration of digital advertising and social media. Approximately 20 agencies in all participated in the initial RFP process, which kicked off last November. Grey takes over on Papa John’s biz for Ft. Lauderdale-based, Omnicom-owned Zimmerman, which chose not to defend.
In a statement, Papa John’s CMO Bob Kraut says, ” Everyone was impressed with the Grey team and their in-depth understanding of our brand and the QSR pizza category. Grey provided keen insights and strategy, which, combined with excellent creative, will help take the Papa John’s brand to the next level. We’re looking forward to working closely with them and welcome them to the Papa John’s team.”
Papa John’s spending is valued at $120 million.