Campaign Imminent: Sub-Zero taps creative AOR to reach new target demographic

Sub-Zero concluded a six-month review by appointing Huge as its AOR to handle brand strategy, creative and digital marketing. This shift replaces The Richards Group, which had a notable scandal at the end of 2020. Since the scandal happened the same month this review kicked off (November), it seems safe to assume the former inspired the latter.

Joanne Davis Consulting aided the review process. Huge will work closely with Crossmedia, which handles media buying and planning, with the goal of reaching older millennials. According to Sub-Zero's marketing director, Brian Jones, this demographic is "redefining what luxury means" and are "investing into homes and remodeling kitchens."

Additionally, effective March 2021, Kyle Warner joined Sub-Zero as its marketing operations manager. The AOR shift and personnel hire could lead the company's spend to pick back up.

So far this year, iSpot reports Sub-Zero has spent approximately $2m on national TV commercials. The company hadn't prevoiusly invested in national TV. By airing its 2021 commercials during PBS's America's Test Kitchen From Cook's Illustrated, Sub-Zero targeted boomers (slight female skew); remember, though, that its target demographic is starting to shift a bit younger.

According to Pathmatics, the company has allocated roughly $252.9k toward digital ads YTD, down less than 1% from the roughly $253.2k it allocated within the same 2020 timeframe. Sub-Zero's estimated 2020 full-year spend of $655.8k reached less than half of that of $1.4m in 2019. Since the beginning of 2021, the company has earned around 34.7m digital impressions via desktop display (76%), desktop video (11%), Facebook (8%), Instagram (3%), Twitter (1%) and mobile display (1%) ads. 83% of this year's desktop display ads have been placed site direct onto destinations such as zillow.com (33%), host.madison.com, bedbathandbeyond.com, houzz.com and kohls.com.

Additionally, per Magellan, Sub-Zero has aired two podcast ads within the past 12 months.

Hopefully spend will pick back up now that Sub-Zero is targeting younger audiences. Along with older millennial consumers, Sub-Zero targets companies in need of refrigerators. Since the technical year-by-year divide between generations gets so blurry, I assume the company is also targeting younger Gen-X audiences. Kantar data reveals it additionally utilizes print and local broadcast.

Agency & martech readers - Sub-Zero's leadership seems content with its media AOR, Crossmedia, so I doubt additional agency reviews will follow this one. Hunter NY is the company's PR AOR.