7-Eleven Takes Integrated Approach

DALLAS -- Beginning next month, 7-Eleven Inc. will look to the Omnicom Group to handle all its advertising, promotions and point-of-purchase, the company reported.

Omnicom subsidiaries Tracy Locke, TPN, Dieste Harmel & Partners and The Integer Group have formed FreshWorks, a virtual agency specifically designed to service the Dallas-based convenience store chain. 7-Eleven operates or franchises roughly 5,800 stores in the United States and Canada and licenses about 22,700 stores in 17 other countries and U.S. territories throughout the world.

7-Eleven will look to the agency for concepts and production of its broadcast, print and outdoor advertising to promote the 7-Eleven brand and proprietary products like the Slurpee frozen beverage, Big Gulp drinks and Big Eats Deli sandwiches. Responsibilities will also include providing strategic counsel, consumer insight and creative product to increase awareness and sales, the company said.

Omnicom was selected over other finalists WPP Partners and Interpublic Group. ABA Consulting of Dallas managed the review process on behalf of 7-Eleven.

"We saw an integrated approach from all the agencies that presented, but Omnicom was the clear winner because they organized in a unique way that will give us access to best-of-class agencies, talent and creative," said Doug Foster, vice president of marketing for 7-Eleven. "They essentially assembled a cluster of agencies managed by a single account team that presents one face to us and ensures complete integration and quality control."

Estimated billings are $40 million, according to published reports.

As the company’s first agency almost 60 years ago, Tracy Locke Advertising branded the convenience store chain with the 7-Eleven name in 1946. The in-house agency also created one of its most recognizable slogans -- "Oh Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven."
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