St. Louis-based bakery and café chain Panera Bread has named Tag Idea Revolution as its agency of record for Canada following an agency review that began last fall.
Tag beat out four other agencies invited to pitch Panera, which currently operates three locations in Toronto. Tag Idea Revolution will provide strategic, creative, public relations, media planning and buying and social media support for its new client.
Matt Orlando, president of Tag Idea Revolution, said his agency’s experience with food and food service brands such as Kraft, Quaker and Jack Astor’s was an important factor in the decision.
“The fact that we had strength in food service and also in all aspects of communication, from PR to social to traditional advertising, seemed to resonate with them,” Orlando said.
According to Orlando, Panera is looking to open additional Canadian locations in the next few years. Tag’s initial task, however, is to increase consumer awareness in the Toronto area, beginning with an advertising campaign planned for launch in late March or early April.
Orlando said the campaign would primarily involve out-of-home media and some adaptation of Panera’s existing social media work.
“They’re already doing an amazing job on the social front, so we’ll just be injecting a Toronto flavor,” he said.
Panera, which operates more than 1,400 stores in the U.S., opened its first Toronto locations two years ago.
