Whirlpool Canada has selected Zulu Alpha Kilo (ZAK) as its new creative agency of record. The selection follows a formal review process that began in February.
As AOR, ZAK will oversee creative for several Whirlpool brands including its namesake label, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag and Certified Care. The full-service mandate also includes strategy, digital, content and social media.
The account was previously held for more than five years by Red Lion. Prior to that, another Publicis Groupe agency, Publicis Canada, worked with the brand. Whirlpool senior brand manager Michelle Domet told Marketing, “Red Lion has been a valued and trusted partner…we are proud of our achievements working with them.”
As it moves forward, Domet said Whirlpool Canada is looking to build “stronger and deeper emotional connections” with consumers through its marketing. The first major ZAK-crafted campaigns are expected to go to market in January 2017.
Domet said Whirlpool knew ZAK’s reputation as an “outstanding creative shop” and had been particularly impressed with its “Lily and the Snowman” spot for Cineplex and its “Be in the Black” campaign for Interac.
In a release, Whirlpool Canada vice-president of marketing James Oh added ZAK “didn’t feel like any other agency” – a quality the Toronto-based agency prides itself on.
“Throughout the pitch process, we were impressed with the thought leadership from the team and the fresh perspective they brought to the table,” Oh said. “Their unique mix of strategic capabilities, their digital expertise, their Zulubot content division and the great chemistry we felt with them from day one all led us to choosing Zulu.”
ZAK CCO and founder Zak Mroueh added, “Appliances can feel very commoditized and most brands in the category are doing pretty traditional marketing. With Whirlpool, we see a real opportunity to build strong and deeper emotional connections with consumers.”
The new AOR marks something of a winning streak for ZAK. Just last month the firm was the first from outside of the U.S. to be named one of Advertising Age‘s Small Agency of the Year.
Whirlpool Canada will continue to work with Cossette Media for media and Hill+Knowlton for PR.
