$280 Mil. Mitsubishi Account in Play

LOS ANGELES Mitsubishi Motors North America will review the creative portion of its ad account following meetings between automaker executives and dealers last week."We've been invited to participate and Deutsch is exploring all its business options right now," said Mike Sheldon, managing partner and general manager of incumbent Deutsch/LA in Marina del Rey, Calif."We decided to conduct an advertising agency review as part of the company restructuring efforts," said Mitsubishi representative Dotty Diemer. The client spent $280 million on domestic ads in 2003, and $235 million through September, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Mitsubishi intends to trim ad spending 20 percent this fiscal year, sources said.Mitsubishi will issue a request for proposal in the next two weeks and wants to complete the review in 90 days, sources said. Select Resources International, Santa Monica, Calif., has been retained to conduct the review, the search agency confirmed; SRI added that whereas it had been under consideration to conduct the upcoming Jaguar creative review, it has now withdrawn to avoid a conflict."We are at a pivotal point in the turnaround of the Mitsubishi Motors brand," said Finbarr O'Neill, Mitsubishi president and CEO, in a statement. "We have a clear market opportunity with the upcoming launch of the all-new Eclipse sports coupe and Raider pick-up truck to connect with a youthful consumer mind-set, which has a high affinity for the Mitsubishi brand. We want to assure that we're getting the most innovative thinking and strategic execution of our brand direction as we launch these new products." One source last week said client executives and dealers have openly discussed the efficacy of changing agencies so near the crucial Eclipse launch next June. Another source said that it was suggested that the Eclipse campaign would be reviewed separately as a project. It was not immediately clear whether Deutsch would be allowed to pitch the Eclipse project.During meetings last week, a few dealers were vocally opposed to continuing with Deutsch, but most approved of the overall creative direction, sources said. Dealers also proposed that Mitsubishi spend more on ads and strongly urged a return to a more traditional media strategy, sources said. Earlier this year, Mitsubishi withdrew from national TV under recently departed svp of marketing Ian Beavis [Adweek Online, Nov. 22].Sources said Omnicom Group's PHD would continue to handle media. The creative review comes as the Cypress, Calif.-based automaker suffered the latest in plummeting sales, a 51 percent drop in unit sales in November compared to the same month last year, putting it 37 percent down for 2004, per Ward's Automotive Reports. That represented the worst performance of any automaker selling in the United States.In a related development, Mitsubishi said its ongoing search for a Hispanic agency has been put on hold.According to Mitsubishi product marketing manager Kevin Mayer, who is heading up the review, there are two agencies on the West Coast being considered, but the automaker will take no action with regard to its Hispanic account until at least January. He declined to name the shops.According to the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies, Mitsubishi has not been among the top seven Hispanic-media automotive advertisers, spending less than Kia, at the bottom of AHAA's list at slightly more than $6 million in 2003.

Brand Marketing

$280 Mil. Mitsubishi Account in Play

Gregory Solman

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Gregory Solman