Y&R has claimed the Motor Trade Association (MTA) account after a three-way pitch also involving Clemenger BBDO and Wellington-based creative agency Scenario.
MTA marketing services manager Ross Cameron says that the incumbent GSL Promotus resigned the account before the commencement of the pitching process, bringing an end to the agency’s 15-year hold on the account.
Cameron says that the review process, which took around three months, involved a full pitch that required the trio of agencies to outline a strategic and creative plan for the next five years.
Cameron says that while there was a specific brief included in the process, agencies were given relative freedom to in terms of how they approached the strategy.
A release from MTA says that the decision to align with Y&R was based on “the agency’s committed senior leadership,
innovative media approach and unique understanding of the MTA brand”.
In 2012, while still under the curatorship of GSL Promotus, the MTA released a campaign fronted by racing driver Greg Murphy that lobbied against legal reforms that would see the warranty of fitness period extended.
The campaign became central to a national debate on whether the law changes should come into effect and saw the AA and the MTA take opposing sides.
Running for four weeks, the campaign attracted 28,000 votes with two thirds of respondents voting to retain the status quo in terms of WOF renewals.
And although not solely responsible, the campaign did a play a part in government modifying its proposal to retain current WOF frequency checks.
Over the course of the last three years, the MTA has significantly reduced its ad spend, according to Nielsen’s rate card data.
