Screen Magazine: Vol. 28, Issue 18

Screen Magazine - Index

Screen Magazine - Screen Magazine: Vol. 28, Issue 18 - Index

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In a move to streamline the creative work
for General Motors’ Buick, Pontiac and
GMC lines, the advertising duties for all
three will now be under the umbrella of
Publicis Groupe agency Leo Burnett, bringing
even more auto advertising to the Motor
City.
Formerly handled by McCann Erickson
(Birmingham, Mich.) and Lowe (New York),
respectively, Buick and GMC will join their
sibling Pontiac at Leo Burnett in Detroit and
Chicago, effective October 1.
In theory, moving all three brands to the
same agency will help General Motors, “further
unleash the power of the Buick-Pontiac-GMC
channel and also support our efforts to create
three strong, fully differentiated brands within
this channel,” says Jim Bunnell, general manager,
Buick-Pontiac-GMC.
“Although we have made a lot of progress to
date in aligning these three brands as a single
channel, we still have work to do,” he adds. “It’s
time to move to the next level and we believe
that having one dedicated agency will help us get
there effectively and efficiently.”
As stated in a recent press release announcing
the realignment, the core Buick, Pontiac and GMC
creative team will be headquartered in Detroit.
But services from Leo Burnett’s Chicago office
will also be utilized, along with other Publicis
Groupe resources. The breakdown of services
between the two offices, and who will be heading
up the endeavor, is yet to be determined.
“We’ve got a lot of hiring to do and we have a
lot of new business to run,” says Kristin Fletcher,
VP/director of corporate communications for
Leo Burnett and Arc North America.
“How it’s going to be run between Chicago
and Detroit – tapping into the resources in
both markets – isn’t laid out exactly as yet. As
we start firming these things up and getting
these things more concrete leading into the
October 1 transition date, there will be more
to say about who is going to be doing what
from where.”
Although the “where” and “who” are still up
in the air, according to Fletcher, plans are still
in motion and on track for the realignment to
officially take effect on October 1. “But you
can imagine,” she says, “it’s a big assignment
to staff. So how all of these things are going
to play out, it’s premature to say.”
One thing, however, can be certain…no
matter what piece of the advertising pie the
Detroit office gets, the addition of Buick
and GMC to Leo Burnett’s roster will
definitely bring more motor to Motown.
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