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New wheels: FCB Media fills the automotive void with European Motor Distributors win

After losing the BMW account earlier this year, FCB Media has successfully orchestrated a switcheroo and landed itself behind the driver’s seat of not one but four automotive brands by winning the European Motors Distributors (EMD) media account after a pitching process, which involved two separate media briefs. 

“The briefs were brilliant and we saw an opportunity to show some innovative thinking, particularly in the digital area,” says Derek Lindsay, the managing director of FCB Media. “We’re excited about working on the four brands and collaborating with EMD’s creative agency partners.”

This win means that FCB Media will now be responsible for the media accounts of VW, Audi, Skoda and Porsche, brands that all fall under the EMD umbrella.

Creatively, Colenso BBDO currently holds the VW creative account, BCG2 looks after Audi and Big Communications works with Skoda.

Audi’s head of marketing Fiona Woolley confirmed that FCB Media would be taking over the account from 1 November, but she would not be drawn into naming the incumbent or any of the other agencies involved in the pitching process.

Woolley said that the pitching process came as part of a regular supplier review, which European Motor Distributors conducts intermittently.

According to stats collated on the Motor Industry Association website, sales of each of the automotive brands has grown steadily in the Kiwi market since 2011, with Audi rising from 1,331 in 2011 to 1,821 in 2013, VW going from 2,551 to 3,769, Skoda rising from 441 to 690 and Porsche rising slightly from 151 to 189. And the brands are all on track this year to improve on the 2013 numbers, with Audi sitting on 1,418 units, VW on 2,774, Skoda on 582 and Porsche on 200.    

In June, FCB lost both the creative and media accounts for BMW, with the former going to DDB and the latter to Dynamo (Rapp was also brought in to look after CRM). And while this win does fill the car-shaped hole in FCB’s client portfolio, it still leaves the agency without a creative account in the automotive industry.    

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