Campaign Imminent: Signet taps media AOR following DM shift (Score 69)

Sales Lead: Signet Jewelers recently assigned its $250m media business to Publicis Media.

• Due to Publicis's hire, Signet will no longer work with EssenceMediacom, incumbent media AOR since 2019, when it won the account from Omnicom and Digitas.
• Signet seems to be specifically working with Spark Foundry.
• The review kicked off from a desire of Signet DMs to transform the company's marketing strategy.
  • Over the years, Signet has gradually evolved its marketing tact, primarily by experimenting with digital strategies.
  • This effort has, so far, involved the acquisition of digital jewelry subscription brand Rocksbox.
  • Right now, Signet's primary objectives include keeping its brands differentiated from competitors to avoid internal competition.
  • This means that Signet will pull back from top-of-the-funnel awareness marketing tactics such as holiday campaigns.
  • Instead, targeted digital ads will roll out year-round in an effort for Signet to connect with consumers in more personalized ways.
  • This digital strategy pivot seems to be paying off, at least somewhat; per CMO Tony Rogers, Signet "doubled the percentage of our ad spend that is digital over the last few years.”
• This shift concludes a review that kicked off around when we thought one would - in January 2023 around its appointment of group president and chief consumer officer Jamie Singleton.
• The company will likely:
  • Shift strategy
  • Launch a new campaign
  • Pursue partnerships with designer brands such as PDPAOLA, specifically for Zales (more here)
  • Return to higher spend
  • Seek additional new agency partners
• Target demographic: 
  • Millennials and Gen-X  
  • Women and gift-giving men

Additional spending insights:

• Broadcast, digital, and social insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance; digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • View top brands' recent national TV and digital spend here. 
• Additional channel insights  
  • Signet utilizes local broadcast, digital, print (newspapers), Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, and online video (primarily via Youtube.com and Youtube Android) ads.
  • The company sponsors podcasts such as Let’s Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: Additional agency reviews could easily follow this one, so reach out soon to offer creative, PR, social media management, digital analytics, experiential, influencer, and/or multicultural services.
• Current agency roster:
  • Publicis Media/Spark Foundry: Media AOR (April 2023)
  • GSD&M: Creative AOR (Zales)
  • McKinney: Creative AOR (Jared)
  • Zimmerman: Creative and strategy AOR (Kay)
  • Badger Agency: Creative AOR (Zales)
  • Critical Mass: Creative agency partner

Insight Sources: Broadcast insights estimated by iSpot; digital spend insights estimated by Pathmatics; additional channel insights estimated by Vivvix; podcast insights by Podchaser.