Food Lion Names Mullen Its New Ad Agency

Food Lion has selected Mullen as its advertising agency of record. Mullen will develop developing the Delhaize America-owned grocery chain advertising campaigns and collaborate with it on integrated marketing initiatives. The terms of the contract weren’t disclosed,

“Mullen will be a great partner to enhance the Food Lion brand, especially as we continue to implement the new Food Lion strategy in 2012,” noted Cathy Green Burns, president of Salisbury, N.C.-based Food Lion, which operates more than 1,100 supermarkets and employs about 57,000 associates in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states. “Mullen has a unique opportunity to help us transform our business as we strengthen the Food Lion brand.”

“We are confident in Mullen’s ability to deliver creative and compelling marketing programs to our customers,” said Karen Fernald, Food Lion’s SVP of brand strategy and marketing. “Mullen’s experience in driving retail brands and expertise in reaching target audiences with powerful and relevant messages in a variety of marketing venues will serve as the perfect complementary partner to our organization.”

“We believe our strategic and creative excellence will help re-energize consumers around the lion's share of advantages associated with shopping at Food Lion,” added John Fitzgerald, president of Mullen’s North Carolina office, which will lead the Food Lion account team

Boston-based consulting firm Pile + Co. managed the review process, which began in August 2011. Mullen replaces Atlanta-based Ames Scullen O'Haire as Food Lion’s agency of record. New creative and advertising could roll out as early as the first quarter of 2012.

Mullen, also based in Boston, is a full-service “hyperbundled” agency integrating disciplines from creative to digital marketing, public relations and social influence, media planning and buying, mobile marketing, direct response,and performance analytics.