Deutsch Family Wine and Spirits Names Tombras Media Agency of Record

Deutsch Family Wine and Spirits has named Tombras its media agency of record (AOR), it exclusively told ADWEEK.

The account expands an existing partnership between the pair. Tombras is currently creative AOR for Yellow Tail and Josh Cellars.

Now, as media AOR, the agency’s Knoxville, TN headquarters and its New York City office will service media planning and buying across the brand’s entire portfolio including Cantera Negra Tequila, Bib & Tucker Bourbon, and Redemption Whiskey.

Deutsch declined to disclose the total size of the account in billings. However, according to Dan Kleinman, chief brand officer at Deutsch, media spending across its portfolio ranges between $40 million and $50 million.

Havas Media was Deutsch’s previous media AOR for over 14 years, although Tombras handled paid social since 2021. The review process began in late July and lasted nearly four months. It involved two other shortlisted agencies, Havas Media and Horizon Media.

Kleinman told ADWEEK that streamlining media across one agency would allow the brand to “maximize efficiencies and cross-pollinate learnings.”

In 2025, Deutsch planned to test spending more on TikTok, as the platform opened paid offerings to beverage alcohol advertisers last summer. However, with the app’s uncertain future, Kleinman said the brand’s TikTok spend is TBC. For now, it will shift to Meta and YouTube Shorts where it’s seen increased sales and “significant success in driving both equity metrics and strong short and long-term ROI.”

The scope of the new partnership includes engaging new and existing consumers. Tombras plans to use its propriety Tombras ID platform, which uses third-party data sets to identify consumer transaction behavior, location, and audience interest, to reach more people.

“We want to hold the media accountable to actual sales,” shared Tombras president, Dooley Tombras. “Part of how we do that is the way that we’ve built out our tech stack on the measurement side.”

The review

The review process began in July 2024 and lasted nearly four months.

Deutsch wanted to find an agency that would “bring us full-funnel solutions and measurement as well as keeping us on the leading edge of media and personalization opportunities,” Kleinman said.

“We wanted a partner that could really help us build our first-party data, drive more targeted addressable media, and fuse creative and media strategy and execution on our lead brands,” he said.

The brand tasked the agencies with three briefs designed to evaluate their use of first-party data, capabilities in local media solutions, and approach to small-brand, small-budget media planning.

Despite having an existing relationship with the brand, Tombras said the pitch process was still challenging.

“We do our best work when we’re full-service,” said Tombras. “It’s been said before that the original sin of the industry was splitting up creative and media, and we’ve never subscribed to that.”

A win for Deutsch

Kleinman said he was impressed by Tombras’ “brain power” and the agency’s ID platform, calling it a “huge asset.” 

“[The team] brought very smart solutions to both audience targeting, addressable media, dynamic creative optimization (DCO), and creative ideas to drive cut through with our media investment,” he said.

For Tombras, working with Deutsch on the creative and media sides enables it to hone in on DCO and media-driven creative ideas. 

The Deutsch Family Wine and Spirits win adds to Tombras’ robust media roster, which includes Sally Beauty, Fresh Direct, PODS, Great Clips, Altar’d State, LaserAway, and RE/MAX. 

According to Tombras, combined spending across all its media clients exceeds $800 million.