Red Lobster puts creative account into review
Publicis Groupe has held the business since 2014.
Tekef
The creative account went into review in 2018; Publicis defended and won. But the restaurant chain’s spending has been largely inactive during COVID. In 2020, the chain put $25 million into advertising, according to figures from Kantar; by last year that had shrunk to less than $800,000. The Kantar figures include TV and various other forms of measured media.
Privately held Red Lobster brought in $2 billion in revenue in 2021, according to Forbes. Before Valade left in April—calling it “an incredibly difficult but necessary decision,” according to a news release—she appointed its first chief marketing officer, along with a chief information officer and a chief financial officer. Patty Trevino, former VP of marketing for CKE Restaurants took on the CMO role in January of this year.
Red Lobster declined to comment. Publicis Groupe declined to comment.
Don’t miss the latest news. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters here.
