It doesn’t have a name yet, but the luxury-oriented boutique agency, to launch 1/1 will be dedicated to Lincoln’s brand reinvention and creative marketing strategy. The WPP-owned agency, based in NYC, will be headed by luxury auto vet Cameron McNaughton (he’ll be the President) and will report to Satish Korde, CEO, Team Detroit.
Lincoln’s Timothy Elliott tells RBR-TVBR up until now, Team Detroit has had a small group of talented Lincoln team members who leveraged a larger pool of shared resources: “The philosophy of the new boutique agency in New York is adding more specific talent with luxury experience (and not just from automotive but across industries) with additional fully dedicated Lincoln-only resources.”
Another experienced luxury talent, Jon Pearce, has been appointed chief creative officer. Most recently, Pearce was executive creative director at BBH, New York. He was responsible for leading Johnnie Walker, Westin Hotels and Resorts, Unilever’s Vaseline Global account, and the BBC.
“We’re reinventing the Lincoln product and ownership experience and working to make it a unique, compelling proposition for today’s luxury customer,” said Jim Farley, group vice president, Global Marketing, Ford Motor Company. “Assembling a talented, Lincoln-only creative agency team, in partnership with Team Detroit and WPP, to build this brand is an important next step in our plan.”
Building on the Team Detroit partnership model created by WPP and Ford in Detroit, the agency will transfer some Team Detroit talent as well as making new hires in NYC.
The New York team will initially have 45 staffers and focus on account management, creative development, media and strategic planning. Support departments and disciplines for Lincoln – including client accounting, digital programming, media buying, creative production, top market field organization and traffic – will remain with Team Detroit.
Prior to joining WPP, McNaughton served as the president and founder of McNaughton Automotive Perspectives (MAP), which offered marketing consulting services to automotive manufacturers, dealers and their communications agencies. At MAP, McNaughton consulted on a range of brands with both marketers and agencies including: Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Hill Holliday, Hyundai, Mahindra, MicroMass Communications, Porsche, Publicis, Strawberryfrog and Vale Euro RSCG.
