Hershey has added CP+B to its core agency roster, AdAge reports.
The appointment was confirmed in a statement attributed to chief marketing officer Peter Horst (who joined the company in July) late yesterday. That statement reads in part:
“In a fast-changing media landscape, we need to continually find powerful ways to emotionally engage our consumers. We believe that a robust, multi-agency structure is the best way to serve our brands. It allows us to align the needs of each brand to the unique capabilities of each agency.”
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CP+B joins other core roster agencies Arnold/Havas and Anomaly. Hershey also added Barkley Kansas City and Argonaut San Francisco to its roster for strategic projects last April, with the former still working on a project according to the company. This latest appointment may add to rumors that Arnold’s relationship with the brand is souring, spurred by last year’s review, the arrival of Horst and the announcement of the departure of Michael Lanzi, who has been global managing director on the Hershey’s account since last May.
According to the Ad Age Datacenter, Hershey’s U.S. ad spending fell 2.8% in 2014 to $744.9 million, which still ranks the company as the nation’s 60th-largest ad spender. This year’s figure will likely exceed that total significantly, as Hershey is an an official Olympic sponsor and the confectionery partner of Team USA.