3 Texas Ford Dealer Groups Agree On Thompson In Detroit

Three regional Ford dealer groups in Texas, with a combined $30 million in ad spending, awarded their accounts last week to J. Walter Thompson in Detroit.
The groups went into review last month after W.B. Doner & Co., Southfield, Mich., resigned its regional Ford business to take on the national account of Mazda North American Operations.
Doner’s regional Ford dealer accounts amounted to an estimated $80-100 million.
John Boyle, executive director of the three Texas groups, said committee members agreed to assign the business to JWT, Ford’s national agency, after informally screening shops in Dallas and Austin, Texas.
“We talked to some agencies that told us they did brand building, but our ads need to be deal oriented,” Boyle said.