Dive Brief:
- Hershey Co. is bringing on board three new marketing agencies—Anomaly New York; Barkley, in Kansas City; and Argonaut, in San Francisco—in addition to keeping its current two agencies, Arnold Worldwide and Havas Worldwide.
- The agency additions came after a creative review the company started in January.
- As the company continues to grow its list of brands, Hershey spokeswoman Anna Lingeris says the new agencies will "provide a diverse set of ideas," Ad Age reported.
Dive Insight:
In its Q1 earnings last week, Hershey fell short of analysts' predictions for earnings per share and revenue for the quarter and also reduced its net sales outlook for the year. In a report this week, Sanford C. Bernstein of asset management company AllianceBernstein Holding proposed "whether Hershey's chocolate could see a new era of somewhat slower growth based on health and wellness concerns among consumers and the premiumization of the chocolate category in the U.S.," according to Ad Age.
Hershey may need the new agencies to work on marketing for recent additions to its brand portfolio—including Hershey's Caramels and Krave Pure Foods—Ad Age pointed out.
According to Kantar Media, Hershey spent $726 million on measured media last year. During the first quarter of 2015, the company increased marketing expenses by about 8%.