Ovation Brands, the nation’s largest company-owned and operated buffet company, today announced that it has begun a search for a new creative agency of record for all three of its restaurant divisions which include Ryan’s, Buffets and Tahoe Joe’s. Doner Atlanta (formerly Trend Influence), who has handled the account for the past three years, was invited to participate in the process.
The national chain, which spends tens of millions in media each year, has been undergoing a “reinvention,” with a rollout of a new “Best of Both Worlds: Made Fresh for You, Still All You Can Eat” positioning. While the brands have shared creative for the past three years for efficiency purposes, Rob Crews, Senior Vice President, Marketing for Ovation Brands, believes the time is right to create brand specific messages for the portfolio.
“We value the contributions our current agency has made to our evolution over the past few years. Given the new strategic direction to tailor the creative message to each brand group, now is a good time to reevaluate our creative partners,” said Crews.
Michael Palma of The Palma Group (www.thepalmagroup.com), was engaged to manage the search and a short list of agencies has already been vetted. Presentations are expected to occur in the next month. Crews expects a decision to be made within 90 days.
The new agency will be responsible for all aspects of creative, including television, radio, digital creative, in-restaurant merchandising, billboards and direct mail.
Ovation Brands currently operates 329 restaurants in 35 states, comprised of 319 steak-buffet restaurants and 10 Tahoe Joe’s Famous Steakhouse restaurants. The restaurants are principally operated under the Old Country Buffet, HomeTown Buffet and Ryan’s brands. Ovation employs over 17,000 team members and serves approximately 100 million customers annually. Corporate headquarters are based in Greer, SC with a Corporate Support Center located in Eagan, MN. For more information, visit www.OvationBrands.com.
