• by Larissa Faw , March 31, 2016

Baskin-Robbins (BR) is naming Smith Brothers as its creative agency for its international stores following a formal review. Smith Brothers will be responsible for international and only the BR store brand, not the in-store BR grocery products.  U.S. creative duties are handled by 22squared.

The agency's first work will debut in mid-2016 to support the Flavor of the Month platform, which will include in-store, local marketing, digital and social media elements. This creative will span across more than 5,000 shops in 50 countries and be tailored for specific regions and languages.

This newly assigned duty comes during a time of transition for the ice cream brand. It has been overlooked in recent years in favor of its sister brand Dunkin Donuts. Now, however, parent company  Dunkin Brands  is seeking to reinvigorate the ice cream chain as the category has been seeing increased competition from chains such as Cold Stone Creamery. 

BR is also under new management. Last October Dunkin Brands shifted Bill Mitchell from BR's President to the role of President, Dunkin Brands International overseeing the 8,500 Dunkin' Donuts and BR restaurants located in 61 countries outside the U.S.

With Mitchell's transition to International President, Weldon Spangler assumed operational and marketing responsibilities for the more than 2,500 Baskin-Robbins restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. 

“We are excited to work with Smith Brothers Agency to advance our Flavor of the Month platform internationally within the social and digital space to continue to reach new customers around the world," said Mark Youngworth, senior director, international marketing, Baskin-Robbins International.