Popeyes has rebuilt its agency line-up in a bid to steady a business coming off its weakest financial quarter in years. Stagwell-owned Anomaly takes the US creative agency of record brief, replacing McKinney, which had held the account since 2023.
The chain pointed to Anomaly’s bold creative reputation and its record in food and drink as the deciding factors. Anomaly already works with quick-service brands including Buffalo Wild Wings, giving it category familiarity at a moment when fried chicken competition has intensified sharply.
The change extends well beyond creative. LaForce picks up lead US communications, tasked with an earned media strategy built around cultural relevance and culinary credibility. Angry Butterfly becomes creative agency of record in Canada. Massive Rocket takes on data and CRM, with a brief to strengthen loyalty capability using artificial intelligence and first-party data. Jeffries Consulting ran the US search, with Graphic Content Consulting handling Canada.
Why the reset is happening
The numbers explain the urgency. US comparable sales fell 6.5 per cent in the first quarter, while system-wide sales slipped 3.9 per cent for the three months to 31 March. Parent company Restaurant Brands International has set out three priorities for the turnaround: sharper in-restaurant execution and service, tighter focus on core menu lines such as tenders and sandwiches, and a consistent affordability message.
Those three directives shaped the agency selection. Every partner named has a role that maps directly onto one of them, which is a more disciplined approach than the usual roster shuffle.
The value problem
Fast food has grown noticeably more expensive through successive rounds of inflation, and customers have responded by trading down or eating out less often. Brands that fail to communicate value clearly are losing visits to those that do. Popeyes has been caught in that squeeze while also facing stronger rivals in a fried chicken category it helped ignite with the chicken sandwich wars at the turn of the decade.
Consistency is the second half of the problem. A brand with strong recognition but uneven execution and scattered messaging gives customers no reliable reason to return. The roster changes are an attempt to bring one voice across creative, communications, CRM and market-specific work.
What marketers can take from it
- Match partners to stated business priorities. Each appointment answers a specific mandate rather than a generic creative brief.
- Treat CRM as a growth channel. Appointing a dedicated data and loyalty partner signals that retention economics now sit alongside acquisition.
- Protect brand character while fixing value. Popeyes is leaning into its Cajun and Creole roots rather than discounting its way out, which preserves pricing power longer term.
Chief marketing officer for the US and Canada, Matt Rubin, framed the shift around bringing food quality and brand character to life consistently on every visit. Rubin took the role at the start of the year after serving as chief digital officer, and this roster reset is the clearest statement yet of how he intends to run the brand.
