Papa John’s names a new media agency as it seeks to rebuild its image
Papa John: For upon |Papa John’s International Inc. continues to hone its advertising strategy.
The beleaguered company has named a new integrated media agency of record after losing its former agency amid controversy this summer.
Havas Media will handle integrated media for the brand, according to an AdAge report. Havas Media is the main media brand of Havas Group Media and operates in 144 countries.
1Havas replaces media agency Initiative, which dropped the pizza company as a client in July after controversial news broke, involving Papa John’s founder John Schnatter.
Originally, Initiative had agreed to stay on to work with Papa John’s through the controversy, but it changed course quickly after its U.S. CEO, Amy Armstrong, said “additional information” had come to light, AdAge reported in late July.
Forbes reported
Forbes reported on July 11 that Schnatter had used a racial slur during a media training call with the company’s creative agency, Laundry Service, earlier in the year. 1Forbes later published a story that called into question Papa John’s culture, saying that Schnatter was at the center of unsavory behavior in the company’s top ranks.
The fallout for Schnatter and for the company was swift. Schnatter was ousted from his chairman seat on the board, and the company’s shares lost nearly half their value from a year earlier. Same-store sales fell more than 10 percent in July alone.
Schnatter still retains nearly 30 percent of the company’s outstanding shares and has made moves — such as filing a lawsuit — to take back his position at the top, keeping the company’s debacle in the public eye.
That slur scandal, paired with other problems in the company’s C-suite, led to a rough couple of months for Papa John’s — particularly in its marketing department.
Media Agency
Shortly after the scandal came out, the company lost its media agency of record (Initiative), its creative agency of record, and its PR agency of record. The company’s chief marketing officer, Brandon Rhoten, stepped down in June before the scandal officially broke. He has not been replaced.
Related Posts
The company has been in a tough spot with public relations ever since, scrambling to handle its PR nightmare while Schnatter fuels the flames.
The company has rebranded by removing Schnatter’s face from its branding. It also launched a new website and TV commercial that highlight diversity within the company and among its franchisees.
And in August, Papa John’s named Endeavor Global Marketing as its new creative agency of record. Now, with Havas as the company’s official integrated media agency, it has taken another step to rebuild its battered image. The company does not appear to have chosen a new PR agency.
Company Stump
While the company is fighting an uphill battle and rumors swirl about a buyout, a report last week from Longbow analyst Alton Stump said that, based on his conversations with franchisees, he believes the company is beginning to recover and he does not believe a sale or buyout is imminent.
“Following our latest channel checks, we are confident this sales recovery is now underway and should continue in coming quarters as comparisons get easier and the company regains trust with additional consumers,” Stump wrote last week.
Papa John’s also announced last week that it had restructured its executive suite to help carry out a plan to put the company back on track. The restructuring, which included appointing a new chief operating officer, is designed to improve customer experience and drive growth, according to a news release from the company.
The article was originally published here.
Comments are closed.