Lateral Group nets Kwik-Fit eCRM

Car servicing and repair company Kwik-Fit has handed its eCRM account to Lateral Group, following a four-way pitch against Rapp, CreatorMail and Purple Agency.
The agency will be responsible for developing all Kwik-Fit eCRM requirements and the brand’s ongoing and targeted one-to-one communications to help acquire, engage and retain customers. It is the second significant win in for Lateral Group in as many months; in March it landed a place of the Government’s marketing agency roster.
Kwik-Fit  has worked with a number of direct agencies in the past, and last year appointed Live & Breathe to handle direct mail, promotional and in-centre initiatives. It is not known how the appointment of Lateral will affect this activity.
The group, which has over 600 centres in the UK, started out as a tyre, brake, and exhaust specialist but has expanded into new areas such as MOT testing and car servicing over recent years.
Its most famous marketing campaign remains the 1984 ‘You Can’t Get Better Than a Kwik-Fit Fitter’ which starred a number of up and coming British actors who had appeared in the movie Scum. Five different commercials were made in this series, devised by Rapier, with the last being shown on TV in 1989.
The company was recently acquired by Japanese corporation Itochu. This new ownership, which brings with it large scale investment, has allowed Kwik Fit to relocate its head office to North Hertfordshire and expand its marketing team.
Kwik-Fit head of marketing Karen Richards said: “Lateral demonstrated an impressive understanding of our sector and we are looking forward to an exciting journey as we reposition to be a customer centric business. Lateral will play a pivotal role in making this happen in line with overall growth and communications strategy.”
Lateral Group executive creative director Mike Cavers added: “Kwik-Fit is a long-standing, British institution and having the opportunity to contribute to their eCRM business is a massive coup for the agency.
“Our pledge is to combine customer insight and emotional intelligence to help deliver customer engagement that will help the Kwik-fit brand maximise every connection they have with their customers.”