SANDY SPRINGS, GA — Restaurant giant Inspire Brands — whose holdings include Dunkin’, Arby’s and Sonic — has consolidated its $4m PR business with MSL following a competitive review.

As agency of record, Publicis agency MSL will lead planning and execution of communications spanning all brand and corporate engagement. The firm's responsibilities include strategy, digital, earned media, research, data and creative to heighten brand awareness.

The account is estimated at approximately $4m in fees per year. Three other firms took part in the review: BCW, Ogilvy and Omnicom PR Group. 

Before MSL, different agencies handled PR for Inspire’s restaurant chains, which also include Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings and Jimmy John’s. Zeno handled Buffalo Wild Wings’ PR. Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins worked with RF|Binder.

Hiring MSL comes after Inspire named Publicis Groupe as media agency of record earlier this year.

"With the appointment of MSL as PR AOR, Inspire will have further competitive advantage for brands, leveraging the power and unmatched reach of Publicis Groupe to reach new audiences and delivering increasingly personalized experiences at scale," the company said.

The second largest restaurant company in the US, Inspire was created in 2018 following Arby’s acquisition of Buffalo Wild Wings and Rusty Taco. Inspire bought Dunkin for $11.3b in November 2020 in the restaurant industry’s second largest deal ever.