Haymaker Lands King's Hawaiian
- by Larissa Faw , July 23, 2019
King's Hawaiian is appointing Haymaker as the brand's creative and strategic agency of record following a competitive review. The Los Angeles-based shop will handle all creative and strategic
duties: television, social, OOH and other brand expressions, with a new campaign launching in 2020.
This new partnership represents a new direction for King's Hawaiian as it
has expanded beyond its core dinner rolls to include BBQ sauce and other consumer goods. Last year the company worked with Flood Creative to overhaul its packaging, including the introduction of a
pineapple-shaped logo.
Over the past few years, King's Hawaiian had been led by marketing chief Erick Dickens, who was named a MediaPost All-Star in December. He left the company recently to
co-found a CBD-focused startup, Kadenwood, LLC.
One of Dicken's notable decisions was his preference for in-house work. Although he worked with a major agency on the
company’s first national TV campaign in 2014, he then "bankrolled" an independent agency startup by Steve Levit, formerly CCO at McCann Erickson LA, with King’s Hawaiian as its first,
perpetually high-priority client.
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Now it appears King's Hawaiian is pivoting to a different path via Haymaker. "Their energy and enthusiasm combined with their strategic and
creative prowess makes them an incredible partner for us and our business," explains Chad Donvito, Chief Marketing Officer of King’s Hawaiian. "I’m looking forward to big things to come of
this relationship in the coming year."
