Consumer Cellular Overhauls Agency Roster, Awarding $50M Media Business to Brainlabs

After a 10-week long review, Consumer Cellular awarded its $50 million retail media, paid search and paid shopping business to the full-service, independent agency Brainlabs. Instead of a traditional RFP, the brand sent out an RFI and proposal, kicking off a relatively speedy two-round review process. The business moves out of incumbent agencies Performics and Rain The Growth Agency. Consumer Cellular declined to disclose to Adweek which agencies pitched the business across various categories. The brand did confirm Brainlabs competed in the review with the account's incumbent and four other agencies, a mix of independents and holding company players. The brand is rebuilding its entire agency roster, overhauling its previous marketing strategy in favor of one that is more connected, omnichannel and digital-oriented. "Nobody talks to this segment of people like they're cool anymore," Consumer Cellular CMO Craig Lister, told Adweek. "We want to celebrate the lifestyle that's possible for those in this 50-plus target demographic. We want to make it cool again." Overhauling its marketing organization The CMO recently awarded Consumer Cellular's television and offline channel work to performance media agency Havas Edge and appointed RAPP to handle its CRM, UX and website experience work. It's yet to reveal which agencies will win the brand's other ongoing pitches for its direct response television and testimonials business and its brand positioning and launch work. Now over 25 years old, Consumer Cellular has 4 million customers and sells affordable, contract-free cellular plans primarily to buyers aged 50 and older. Brainlabs' appointment follows a period of significant change for the brand. Lister joined the company last August after a private equity firm took it private in 2020. With the hope of growing the company, especially with the target audience comprised of older adults, the CMO wields a direct-to-consumer marketing budget totaling about $250 million. The company divides that budget among all the agencies on its roster. Of the chunk, Brainlabs' account is worth approximately $50 million. Shifting investments out of traditional channels As agency partners shift, so will the brand's investment focus. Previously, it directed about 85% of its media budget to the television, print and direct mail categories. That percentage, according to Lister, should fall to 65% over time. "We'd like to see a much more balanced footprint and one that addresses all the points of the customer journey. Because we know it often begins in digital, and in some cases can end there as well," the CMO told Adweek. Since August, Lister's bolstered the marketing leadership team, naming Bill Litfin the brand's vp of performance marketing and media and hiring leaders across practices including brand and creative strategy, CRM and customer communications, partner marketing and development, consumer insights and marketing analytics and optimization. "To flank that internal capability, it was extremely important to bring in new agencies that helped with incremental capabilities," Lister said. Winning the review The Consumer Cellular team managed the review process internally, foregoing the use of a pitch consultant. Lister sought a firm with expertise in search and the ability to scale. "We were looking for groups that were performance-marketing oriented, extremely data-driven and could scale very gracefully into other types of programmatic media," Lister said. Earlier this year, the agency acquired the influencer agency Fanbytes, growing its capabilities across social media platforms. During the review, the agency evaluated Consumer Cellular's account data and shared optimization recommendations, impressing the brand team. It also created its own method for managing paid media accounts, which hinges on constant campaign testing and optimization,and coined it d'Artagnan. Most important to the Consumer Cellular team, though, was Brainlabs' willingness to collaborate with a diverse agency roster. "We all know the consumer journey is very nonlinear at this point, and so we need all of our agencies to work together. We need them all to understand the business objectives that we have," Litfin said. Why Influencer Agency Fanbytes Sold to Brainlabs