Crispin Porter + Bogusky has become quite the food agency.
Burger King is long gone but Domino's is still there, as is Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. And now, a week after Arby's shifted its creative account to Crispin, Applebee's has awarded its creative business to the MDC Partners shop.
The Applebee's assignment came after a review in which the other finalists were Publicis in Dallas, Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal + Partners in New York and Barkley in Kansas City, Mo. The chain's annual media spending is estimated at $135 million.
Arby's annual spending is around $100 million. The two new accounts represent a significant infusion of business in just a week.
The Arby's win stemmed from a past relationship. The fast-food chain's new chief marketing officer, Russ Klein, used to run marketing at Burger King, when Crispin was lead creative agency. Crispin handled BK for seven years before splitting in 2011.
Final presentations in Applebee's review took place two weeks ago. The review began in November and the restaurant cut its list down to finalists in January.
In making the hire, Becky Johnson, svp of marketing and culinary at Applebee's, cited Crispin's "ability to make big brands even more compelling." Crispin CEO Andrew Keller, in turn, described Applebee's as a "great American brand."
The chain's media business was not in play and remains at UM. Morgan Anderson Consulting in New York managed the process.
Crispin, which has offices in Boulder, Colo. and Miami, succeeds the New York office of McCann Erickson on the account. McCann, which had handled the business since 2007, did not defend.