Dean Barrett, the Vauxhall Motors marketing director, confirmed that following his appointment of a second agency to the above-the-line roster, for which he is currently seeing pitches, the two agencies will compete for each Vauxhall brand, the Corsa marque being the first up for review.
Delaney Lund Knox Warren & Partners, Roose, Duckworth Finn Grubb Waters and Banks Hoggins O'Shea\ FCB are battling it out for a coveted place on the creative roster alongside Lowe.
The pitch, which is being run by Barrett using the AAR, will see the winning agency go head-to-head against Lowe to pitch for 拢16 million Corsa account -- Vauxhall's biggest car brand. That agency will then go on to compete against Lowe for ad assignments as they arise."We are looking for fresh ideas and creative treatments," Barrett said.
Vauxhall has developed a new brand direction in-house and is looking for an agency to develop its above-the-line communications. "We hope that the public will notice the difference," Barrett said.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers puts Vauxhall UK's current market share at 12.61 per cent, which has dropped from last year's 13.6 per cent. Vauxhall is currently the UK's second-largest car manufacturer.
Three years ago, Vauxhall centralised its above-the-line account into Lowe, which produced the infamous Griff Rhys Jones umbrella campaign. The ads failed to make a good impression. Patrick Dunstar, Vauxhall's marketing communications manager, at the time said: "I think we went a bit too far."
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