Toyota Motor Europe has appointed WPP’s The&Partnership as its lead agency, tasked with heading up creative, content and digital marketing.
To serve the client’s needs, The&Partnership will create a dedicated &TOYOTA hub. The &TOYOTA network will include a data analytics unit, which will integrate “data-driven creative with smart, responsive digital media planning in order to grow the Toyota brand, drive sales and deliver creative consistency and share of voice across all channels and markets.”
It’s unclear whether the unit will leverage WPP capabilities from outside The&Partnership, though it would not be surprising given the size of the business. The role of WPP’s dedicated Ford unit GTB in this equation is also not clear at this time.
“This signifies another great win for The&Partnership’s full-service, innovation-driven model – which has helped clients from TalkTalk to TELUS to News UK and The Wall Street Journal future-proof their businesses and brands,” said The&Partnership founder Johnny Hornby said in a statement. “Toyota is a fantastic brand that deserves smart, best-in-class communications and we’re proud to be working with the Toyota brand again.”
“Our ambition is to strengthen Toyota’s brand image in Europe by producing ever better cars, communicating a clear brand purpose and maximising the effectiveness of our media investments,” added Toyota Motor Europe executive vice president Karl Schlicht. “We believe a new business model is required to achieve this – one that is more integrated and customer-centric – with digital transformation at its heart. We have therefore decided to appoint The&Partnership as our single, integrated agency partner for all marketing, digital and media activities across Europe.”
Last month, The Whitney Museum of American Art appointed The&Partnership as its new lead creative and media agency. Back in July, Wil Boudreau left BBDO to join The&Partnership as North American CCO.