About Us

News

 

ANI Selects CRT/tanaka As Its Corporate and Brand PR Agency--Agency Will Provide PR Counsel to ANI As It Introduces Its New Business Strategy Of Providing Great-Tasting Portable Foods With a Nutritional Advantage

New York (Jan. 17, 2006) - CRT/tanaka today announced that it has been retained by Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. (ANI) to help reposition the Atkins Advantage brand. Last week, ANI successfully emerged from Chapter 11, after filing only five months earlier.

CRT/tanaka will provide corporate and brand marketing public relations counsel to ANI as it introduces a new business strategy that focuses on providing great-tasting portable foods with a unique nutrition advantage to healthy, active men and women. This is a distinct shift from its pre-bankruptcy strategy of educating the population about the benefits of controlled carbohydrate nutrition. ANI has committed $40 million to promote Atkins Advantage and its unique nutrition advantage versus the competition, including the re-launch of www.atkins.com, introducing new high impact packaging and a new, exciting and compelling advertising campaign beginning January 8 in People, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, BusinessWeek, New York Times, Life and Sports Illustrated.

"The remarkable speed of the turn-around and the vision by management inspires us," said Patrice Tanaka, vice chair and chief creative officer at CRT/tanaka. "What ANI has accomplished is truly impressive. They have identified key consumer insights enabling them to evolve to a health and wellness brand, simplified business systems, reformulated products for better taste and quality, and strengthened customer relationships. They have emerged from Chapter 11 in a very, very strong position."

"CRT/tanaka is an important part of our turnaround team, providing us strong corporate and brand marketing PR support and new ways of reaching and educating important audiences about the Atkins Advantage brand," said Mark S. Rodriguez, President & CEO.

About CRT/tanaka
CRT/tanaka is an award-winning public relations and marketing firm, known for creative solutions and workplace culture. The agency was formed in 2005, when Richmond, Va.-based Carter Ryley Thomas Public Relations & Marketing Counsel acquired New York consumer specialist Patrice Tanaka & Company, Inc. to create one of the top independent agencies in the country. Headquartered in Richmond, Va., and New York, with offices in Los Angeles, Charlotte, N.C. and Norfolk, Va., CRT/tanaka specializes in three practice areas - Consumer, Health and Corporate. The agency's Consumer Practice is renowned for its specialty in brand marketing PR, cause-related marketing, sponsorship and event marketing and marketing to women. Through its legacy agencies, CRT/tanaka has been recognized with more than 250 national and regional awards for its strategic counsel, creativity and workplace culture. Clients include Target Stores, Mercedes-Benz USA, Sprint Nextel, Capital One, Altec Lansing, Philip Morris, Charles Schwab & Co., Girl Scouts of the USA, Wines from Rioja (Spain), Pfizer, Chadwick's, HoMedics, All-Clad Metalcrafters, BabyCenter, DeLonghi, VHA Inc., Performance Food Group and ITT Night Vision. For more information, contact CRT/tanaka.

About ANI
ANI is a market-leading portable nutrition foods company offering great-tasting bars and shakes under the Atkins Advantage brand that have a unique nutrition advantage versus the competition - higher protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, low sugar and no trans fats. Atkins Advantage nutrition bars and shakes appeal to the broad audience of healthy, active men and women who choose foods wisely to enhance their health and well-being, and are available to purchase in more than 30,000 retail locations throughout North America. To see how Atkins Advantage is staking its claim as the new look of nutrition, visit the newly designed Web site at www.atkins.com.