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General Motors Cadillac Interpublic Group

Cadillac’s newly appointed marketing chief says ad agency will stay “for the time being”

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By Jennifer Faull, Deputy Editor

November 8, 2013 | 2 min read

General Motors’ new marketing chief for Cadillac has said he will keep the advertising agency, a group of three Interpublic shops collectively known as Rogue, "for the time being."

Commenting on his new role to Bloomberg, Uwe Ellinghaus said: “Cadillac is today probably an admired brand and also well-liked brand but not a particularly -- as we marketeers call it -- relevant brand. My biggest job is to explain to people why they should go for Cadillac, why it meets their daily requirements, why the expression of style is right for them.”

Central to making this brand relevant will be the ad agency behind it. In June this year, Cadillac replaced Fallon on its $250m creative account with a group of Interpublic agencies. Under the collective name of Rogue, Hill Holliday, based in Boston, leads the creative and strategic work while Campbell-Ewald handles the account management. Lowe manages digital advertising.

“I have no plans for the time being to change,” said Ellinghaus. “Give me some time to assess the situation, to assess my own people and the agency network. For the time being, of course, we’ll continue to work with Rogue.”

However he went on to say that advertising agencies “are only as good as you steer them. As long as you don’t know the direction for the brand yourself, don’t ask your advertising agency what the brand strategy could look like. This is like asking a hairdresser whether you need a new haircut.”

Ellinghaus officially assumes the role on January 1.

General Motors Cadillac Interpublic Group

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