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Beaurepaires chooses DDB and Dynamo for life after Vince

DDB and Dynamo will lead the new creative strategy for Beaurepaires after winning the automotive repair company’s advertising and media planning account, following a competitive pitch thought to have involved several unnamed agencies. 

In August last year, Beaurepaires was sold  for an undisclosed sum by Goodyear & Dunlop Tyres to locally owned Beau Ideal, a company owned by Barbara and Grant Rushbrooke (who founded TyreLine Distributors), and Graeme Wansbone. 

Since the change of ownership, major infrastructural changes have been effected, including the introduction of new servers and phone systems, the launch of a new call centre and a relocation of the the head office to Hamilton.  

“With major infrastructure in place, we decided the time was right to appoint a creative agency to lead a rebrand and once more make Beaurepaires a friendly and famous household name,” said the company’s marketing manager Katherine Rushbrook in a release.

The incumbent on the account was Clemenger BBDO, so this change will see the advertising responsibilities move from Wellington to Auckland.  

“The decision to appoint DDB and Dynamo was unanimous,” says the marketing manager. “We know this team will light the creative fire and reinvigorate the Beaurepaires brand.”

The announcement of the account changing hands has also coincided with news that Beaurepaires has parted company with brand ambassador Vince Martin. 

“[DDB and Dynamo] have big boots to fill after 30 years of Vince, but we absolutely believe they’re the team for the job and we’re excited to embark on this new journey, into the next chapter of the brand,” says Rushbrooke.
 
During his tenure, Martin became to the automotive industry what ASB’s Ira Goldstein was to banking or what Tammy Wells (the Briscoes Lady) was to retail. Today, the Dutch-born Australian actor’s face is  synonymous with road side repairs, and he has garnered a significant following of fans for his often quirky performances over the years. 

Over the last five years, Martin’s precence on television screens has faded, and the new owners now plan to take the marketing approach in a different direction.    

“The new team at Beaurepaires are a great bunch with clear ambitions and a determination to return this brand to its iconic status in New Zealand,” said DDB’s general manager Oliver Lynch in the release. “We have some great ideas brewing already.” 

According to Nielsen’s AIS figures for rate card ad spend, Beaurepaires spent $1.72 million on advertising in 2012. Last year, this amount dropped to around $1.05 million, which is largely attributable to the change of ownership. And up to August this year, the company has spent only $299,000 on advertising. However, with the appointment of a new creative agency, the level of ad spend is likely to increase again.

Given that Martin has played such an integral role in Kiwi advertising over the years, we thought we’d provide a quick YouTube euology (YouLogy?)  of his career:

 

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