BATAVIA, IL: Supermarket chain Aldi has appointed Zeno Group as its PR AOR in the U.S.
Zeno started working with Aldi in September, following an RFP process that started in March.
The work is focused on all aspects of brand and corporate reputation, including earned media, creative, influencer relations, executive positioning, CEO counsel, issues and crisis and measurement.
Zeno is aiding Aldi with “high-impact storytelling about the value, quality and price that Aldi offers its shoppers,” said Grant Deady, MD for Zeno Chicago. “So we will continue to tell that story throughout the year, highlighting the unique Aldi finds that will hit the shelves this upcoming holiday season.”
Zeno is also planning for 2023. Deady said that there has never been “a better time for Aldi to tell its story,” as soaring grocery-store prices are in the news every day. “Aldi was a solution before there was a problem,” Deady said.
Kate Kirkpatrick, Aldi director of communications, said in an emailed statement that Zeno “quickly understood Aldi and offered refreshingly bright ideas to further differentiate our business.”
Lauren Kuzniar, EVP at Zeno, is leading the account team. Zeno’s Chicago office is heading up the work, with talent from across its network working on the business in New York, Chicago and California.
The incumbent on the account was Weber Shandwick, which will work with Aldi until January.
“There is some overlap right now,” said Deady. “Zeno fully takes over on January 1.”
Joy Farber Kolo, Weber Shandwick North America CEO, said via email that the agency is proud of the partnership it has had with Aldi for more than a decade.
“It has been a privilege to help create fan-building, inspiring work for the brand, including the first-ever Aldi wedding happening just a few weeks from now,” she said.
Kirkpatrick added that Weber has played an “integral role” in building and protecting Aldi’s reputation as a leader in the grocery and retail space.
“We appreciate their many contributions to our business,” Kirkpatrick said.
More than 300 staffers work in Zeno’s Chicago office, which took in $50 million in revenue last year, Deady said.
“We are now of the size and scope in Chicago to take on an assignment like this one,” he said.
Budget information was not disclosed, but Deady said that Aldi is “one of the largest clients in Zeno’s Chicago office.”
Zeno reported 37.9% growth last year to $118.6 million, with U.S. revenue up 39.8% to $95.5 million, according to PRWeek’s Agency Business Report 2022.
Aldi has 2,200 stores in 38 states, and is on track to become the third-largest grocery retailer by store count by the end of 2022, the privately held chain said in a statement.