Apple & Eve Launches Search

NEW YORK–Apple & Eve, a Port Washington, N.Y., juice company with distribution on the East Coast and parts of the Midwest, is searching for an ad agency to handle creative and media duties on the brand, an Apple & Eve executive confirmed. Billings are estimated at $1-2 million.

New York consultancy ADvice & ADvisors is managing the review. Already, the consultant and Apple & Eve have identified a “medium list” of six New York area shops, which they will visit, said Brad Angevine, vp of marketing. He declined to identify the shops.
After the visits, the company will cut to 2-3 finalists, which will make strategic presentations, according to Angevine. Apple & Eve hopes to select an agency by June.

In the past, the company’s marketing has consisted mainly of promotions and guerrilla efforts. In 1998, however, Apple & Eve hired Boston shop Gearon Hoffman to create traditional advertising. The following year, the agency produced a TV, radio and print campaign that alluded to the “natural” qualities of the brand and employed the tagline, “A slice of paradise.” Gearon Hoffman last worked for the client in November 1999, Angevine said.

Explaining the rationale for the search, Angevine noted that Apple & Eve has grown considerably in recent years and is branching out into direct store deliveries–to convenience stores and food service companies. “We feel we need to raise the ante and go into more brand-building,” he added.

Besides Angevine, other key decision-makers in the review include CEO Gordon Crane and Jeff Damiano, director of creative development and new products. Damiano functions as an in-house creative director, Angevine said.

Founded in 1975, Apple & Eve sells fruit juices and juice cocktails in family-sized and individual cartons. It also has a line of Sesame Street-branded juices.
Competitors include Veryfine, Ocean Spray and Nestle’s Juicy Juice, which spent about $9 million in measured media last year, according to CMR. Ocean Spray spent nearly $15 million and Veryfine, less than $1 million, per CMR.