• by Larissa Faw , December 6, 2017

Dean Foods has appointed Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners (KBS), part of MDC Partners as its new AOR following a formal review. Curiosity Advertising was the incumbent.

KBS's pitch was led by the agency's new global chief strategy officer Ted Florea, "which shows how quickly our leadership team has galvanized the agency" says Guy Hayward, global chief executive officer, KBS.

KBS will work closely with Dean Foods across a number of its brands including, DairyPure, TruMoo, Caribou Iced Coffee, Uncle Matt’s Organic, Mayfield, Dean’s Country Fresh, and Steve’s ice cream.

Next year, the DairyPure brand is launching a new digitally-led advertising campaign that Dean Foods believes "will break through and really connect with consumers, drive brand equity, and increase household penetration of the brand," said company executives during a call with investors. In addition, DairyPure will enter the "emerging" single-serve flavored cottage cheese category with on-the-go convenient snacking targeted to millennials, per executives on the call.

KBS is tasked with helping the food and beverage company adjust to the rapidly changing landscape. The company is challenged by private label brands as well as shoppers not visiting stores as frequently. Milk, of course, is a staple that traditionally has driven weekly visits. And consumers are increasingly consuming less milk.  Total Dean Foods volume of 608 million gallons across all products represent a 6.6% year-over-year decline, according to its most recent financial results. Fluid milk sales data, published by the USDA through August, shows a quarter-to-date category decline of 2.2% on a year-over-year basis, while IRI reported a 2.8% decline in Q3 fluid milk sales versus the year-ago period.

KBS will also have to do more with less spend. The agency was awarded the business because of its integrated capabilities and creative prowess, according to a KBS spokesperson. And Dean Foods is currently working with an outside consultancy to help cut costs across the board, which includes advertising and promotional expenses.

Dean Foods spent $10.63 million advertising its brands during the first six months of 2017, down from $22.16 million during the same time frame in 2016. For the full 12 months in 2016, the company's ad budget was $38.50 million, according to Kantar Media.