Chrysler is prepping the launch of a corporate branding TV campaign it hopes will help repair its image in the minds of consumers. Interpublic’s Gotham is handling creative.
The ads, which are expected to break in the next few weeks, feature real company employees. The move comes as car makers are looking to emerge from the auto industry’s troubles and lure back buyers, reports AdAge.
Chrysler has made a host of changes to its marketing relationships. Its entire ad account was handled by Omnicom Group agencies a year ago, but since the company’s come under the control of Italy’s Fiat, assignments are now handled by multiple shops.
Wieden & Kennedy and Richards Group handle creative for Dodge cars and Ram trucks, respectively; GlobalHue Detroit does work for Jeep; Fallon was tapped for work for brand Chrysler; Sapient Nitro handles digital duties across the Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler bands and Chrysler Group; Meredith Corp.’s New Media Strategies agency does social-media marketing; and Universal McCann is the media agency for Chrysler brands.
Chrysler’s marketing budget has shrunk dramatically, but it’s still more than half a billion dollars in domestic measured media, said the story. For all of 2009, it spent $577 million, according to Kantar Media. Between January and February of this year, it spent nearly $120 million on U.S. measured media, and some of that could be related to its Super Bowl buy.
