coffee to go
We were talking yesterday in an agency meeting about sticking to our principles in challenging times. News just in from Portland is that we've resigned the Starbucks account.
It's been a tough relationship with Starbucks for the past 4 years and their recent business performance only amplified the challenge. We were burning people out and it was affecting morale at the agency. So we decided to resign the account. The news has already hit the trade press in the States. (See below.)
It's another sign of our independence. Not sure you'll find any other agency resigning a piece of business in this financial climate. But things weren't right and it was time to end it. No direct financial impact on us here in London as Starbucks wasn't a client here, but the good news is we can now work with tea brands in the UK!
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Wieden & Kennedy said it is parting ways with Starbucks, ending a relationship that began in 2004.
"There are times when it just makes sense to part ways with a client," Wieden founder Dan Wieden said in a statement. "In this case, this seems to be the best decision for both parties."
A call to a Starbucks media hotline wasn't immediately returned.
Wieden, which also handled media buying and planning for the coffee roaster, had been responsible for the first large-scale advertising in Starbucks' history, including its first TV push last winter.
But Starbucks' business has fallen on hard times of late. In July it announced it would close 600 stores.