• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, March 15, 2015

Yogurt marketer Chobani has stripped Droga5 of its AOR duties for the company and is taking most of its creative advertising activities in house, the company has confirmed. It will also continue to use outside agencies on a project-by-project basis.

The company’s top marketer, Peter McGuinness, is a seasoned advertising pro, whose work includes stints at DDB and McCann and will directly oversee the firm’s advertising efforts going forward. The company will also continue to use a roster of ad shops, including OppermanWeiss, GMR and shopper marketing specialist Mars, on a project basis. Omnicom’s OMD remains as the company’s media agency. 

Whether Droga5 will continue to create ads for the company — as a project-focused agency — was not clear. Sources familiar with the situation said Chobani has not ruled out the possibility, and a Drogra5 rep did not respond to a query for comment. 

The company’s move away from an AOR approach comes as it is launching new products into the marketplace, including yogurt pouches for kids and additions to its snack and dessert-oriented product lines. Those additions come as the growth in consumption of Greek-style yogurt has slowed after several years of rapid growth amid fierce competition from players such as Danone and Yoplait. 

Chobani issued a statement on the move: "We're fortunate to have great agencies who have partnered with us at different stages of our growth. Recently, we decided to change our approach and move from an AOR model to more in-house and project-based agency partners." 

The company declined to comment beyond the statement.