Marlin Company signs Starbucks to client list

Seattle's Starbucks Coffee Company has selected Springfield-based Marlin Company as the agency of record for its foodservice and office beverage solutions businesses in the United States and Canada.

Marlin's responsibilities will include strategic planning, advertising and promotion for Starbucks' foodservice and office beverage divisions. The agreement was finalized March 1.

Marlin owner Dennis Marlin said the deal signals a turnaround for the company. Like many advertising agencies, Marlin struggled to find business post Sept. 11. The company let go seven employees in April 2002.

"It's a significant part of our turnaround and growth," he said of the Starbucks account. "We had a downturn in the past, but our business is up about 45 percent over what it was last year."

Other deals this year have pushed Marlin's capitalized billings to $24 million, up from $18 million in 2002, Marlin said. Most notable is the account with ConAgra-Diversified Food Products, which manufactures Hunt's tomato products and Wesson oils.

In addition, Marlin said, client budgets are growing. "We're seeing some existing client spending starting to come up as well," he said. "Spending is starting to come back a little bit. People are protecting their brands and investing in their brands."

Marlin estimates that 75 percent of the agency's growth this year is from new business, while 25 percent is due to increased spending by existing clients.

Marlin Account Group Director Tom Kujawa will oversee the Starbucks account. Another eight to 10 personnel, including account service representatives and creative representatives, will work the account.

The firm can't talk about specific projects it will do for Starbucks until they're actually released in the marketplace, Kujawa said. Confidentiality agreements are signed with clients.

It is too early to see anything in the marketplace at this time, Kujawa added.

"They have assigned us areas of responsibility from strategic planning to promotions and different things that we do," Marlin said.

The agreement is ongoing but not for a predetermined period. "That is pretty standard with most, if not all, of our agency of record assignments," Kujawa said.

Marlin added that most contracts do not detail dollar amounts. "Once we've identified the assignments, then we determine a budget that goes along with it to accomplish that initiative."

Starbucks is Marlin's 12th agency-of-record client. Clients are spread across the country in cities such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas and now Seattle.

"We're here in Springfield, Missouri, and the last two pieces of business we've picked up have been on the West Coast. We travel a lot to have to service this," but also communicate via videoconferencing, teleconferencing and e-mail, Marlin said.

Kujawa said the two companies are getting familiar with each other.

"We are learning them; they are learning us," he said. "We are working daily and weekly on projects right now. We expect that business to grow. Starbucks, in terms of their visibility as well as their focus on brand marketing, is up among the top clients that we have."

Starbucks Foodservice Vice President and General Manager John Culver said in a news release, "We're looking forward to working with Marlin and benefiting from their core experiences in foodservice and communications as we explore opportunities for the next level of growth for the Starbucks foodservice and office beverage solutions businesses."