Luxury car brand Lexus has pulled its CRM account out of Publicis’ Digitas and handed the business to Wunderman Thompson, which will work closely with WPP sister agencies The & Partnership and m/Six as part of plans to work with one integrated team.
The move reunites Lexus with Wunderman chief creative officer Steve Aldridge, who first worked on the account in 2001 when Partners Andrews Aldridge won the business from Rapp.
The & Partnership has handled creative and brand strategy for Lexus since 2006, having won a place on the roster of parent company Toyota a year earlier.
Partnering with Wunderman to win the pitch, “Team WPP” will now also handle CRM, creative and design across the UK and EMEA. m/SIX handles media.
With consistent teams working across Toyota and Lexus, the brand claims the partnership can provide greater opportunities and operational efficiencies, using technology capabilities to provide personalised and relevant communications across email, display and connected media.
Lexus UK CRM manager Mark Benton said: “Customers don’t think and operate in silos and it’s important as a business we don’t either. Adding Wunderman Thompson into the fold allows us to understand customer’s perspectives, craft an experience based on an individual and bring it to life with outstanding creative across all customer touchpoints. Working with one united agency team allows us to truly deliver ‘Experience Amazing’ for our customers.”
He added: “Digitas has been a fantastic partner and I want to thank them for the successes we’ve shared together”.
Wunderman Thompson UK managing partner Natalie Heselton commented: “Lexus is a visionary company who have exciting plans for the future. They truly understand the importance of an end-to-end experience that starts with the customer, puts them at the heart and leverages the right data and technology to make it future fit. It’s an exciting start to the year.”
Wunderman and The & Partnership already work together on a number of accounts, including News UK.
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