Kraft Heinz Sends Kraft Mac and Cheese, Philadelphia Cream Cheese Creative Accounts to Droga5

“Kraft Heinz continues to build new partnerships and models to adapt to the changing consumer landscape,” Kraft Heinz U.S. head of brand and innovation Michelle St. Jacques said in a statement. “We are excited to be partnering with Droga 5 on these iconic Kraft Heinz brands.”

A brand representative has yet to respond to a request to clarify whether the selection is an agency of record assignment or project, but a source close to the matter claims that Droga5 has been named as agency of record for both brands.

Kraft Heinz formerly worked with agencies CP+B and Leo Burnett on a project basis for its Kraft Mac and Cheese and Philadelphia Cream Cheese brands, respectively. A representative for CP+B declined to comment, while a representative for Leo Burnett deferred to the client.

CP+B’s most recent work for Kraft Mac and Cheese appears to be 2017’s “Swear Like A Mother” campaign for Mother’s Day. The agency was named agency of record for Kraft Mac and Cheese in 2010, but the brand later moved to a project-based model. Leo Burnett won the Philadelphia Cream Cheese account when Kraft-Heinz consolidated its agency roster in 2014.

The assignment follows Droga5’s third round of layoffs of the year last month, which saw the agency part ways with around two dozen employees. Two months earlier, the agency parted with a number of employees in its New York office, with some estimates placing the total around 20 or more in the wake of Pizza Hut and Ancestry.com launching reviews. In February, Droga5 parted with 5 percent of its staff, or 40 employees.

Both the Effie Awards and The One Show named Droga5 Independent Agency of the Year for 2018.

Patrick Coffee contributed reporting to this story.