Dive Brief:
- Dave & Buster’s has named Gut as its creative agency of record and Mediaplus as media AOR following a review, according to a press release. The agencies will assume their duties on Oct. 1.
- Gut’s remit spans brand strategy, creative development, social media and influencers, with the aim of delivering more distinct, culturally impactful marketing on behalf of the chain. Mediaplus is tasked with implementing a more agile, data-driven approach to the brand’s media strategy, planning and buying.
- Dave & Buster’s said it wants marketing to become a driver of growth, including by linking nationally scaled efforts to relevance at the local level. The agency roster shakeup follows a number of executive transitions, including Dave & Buster’s bringing on a new CMO in June.
Dive Insight:
With the pair of agency appointments, Dave & Buster’s wants to bolster the cultural relevance of its brand while also realizing improved marketing precision. The revamped strategy, which features an emphasis on more data-driven capabilities, as well as social and influencer marketing, seeks to capture the fun spirit and in-venue energy of the chain while giving customers more reasons to regularly visit.
Dave & Buster’s, which operates 251 locations in North America, offers a mix of dining, arcade-style entertainment and live sports broadcasts targeted at young adults, a cohort that has more digital-first media habits. The company put its agencies into review in the spring and enlisted Joanne Davis Consulting for the search, prioritizing partners that could unite brand-building, customer data, local market activation and measurement in a more integrated fashion.
Deloitte Digital and Dentsu were the incumbents for creative and media, respectively. Both firms participated in the pitch.
Dave & Buster’s has undergone other changes amid the hunt for new agencies. CMO Jeremy Tucker came over in June from AutoNation, and the agency review concluded under his watch. Last month, the brand promoted Darin Harper from CFO to CEO, replacing Tarun Lal, who held the position for about a year. Dave & Buster’s has had three CEOs since 2021, Restaurant Dive previously reported. Lal and Harper both worked on a Back to Basics turnaround plan focused on simplifying the customer experience and operations.
Prior to hiring Tucker, Dave & Buster’s had been without a CMO for more than a year and struggled to find consistent marketing leadership. That resulted in a number of problems, such as off-the-mark messaging, constantly shifting promotional calendars and media plans, and inconsistent measurement, executives recently said.
“Under Jeremy's leadership, I'm extremely confident we're now on the right path to addressing these challenges,” Harper said on an earnings call earlier this month. “[We] also intend to simplify our messages and market, keeping a consistent evergreen value message with our guests that has strong recall at the point of consideration.”
Revenue at Dave & Buster’s declined 2.4% to $544.1 million for the fiscal quarter ended Aug. 4. Comparable sales, a closely watched metric in the restaurant category, were down 2.9% during the period, extending a protracted slump for the chain.
