The Designory | Agency Profile, Contacts, AOR, Client Relationships

See Winmo sales intelligence in action

Campaign Imminent: Audi concludes digital review, names four-agency team (Score 52)

Update: Designory will handle product enterprise/content.

We don't know when a new campaign from the agency team will launch, but we imagine it'll be soon. Audi needs to reignite customer interest to combat its sales declines  - a 13% drop in April and a 5.9% drop since the beginning of the year - and has some big marketing initiatives planned for this year (more below).

Therefore, sellers should reach out for revenue. Audi typically increases spend during Q2 and Q4, though it would also be a good idea to keep an eye on new products. It primarily targets men, especially millennials and Gen-X.

Please read more about Audi's recent spend and strategy below. Know that, since we reported last, Audi promoted Bram Schot to CEO (January) and Hannah Cebula to retail continuity & campaign specialist (March). It is looking for a brand and experiential specialist for Lamborghini.

Note: Schot is based in Germany, so he will not show up in Winmo.

Agency & martech readers -- Audi Venables, Bell & Partners (creative since 2006). Focus pitches on helping Audi combat its declines and stay top-of-mind amid competitors like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Toyota.

Below was originally published April 25.

Venables Bell & Partners, and features a TV spot that will air throughout April and May.

The electric vehicle push also includes a partnership with "Avengers: Endgame." Audi is sponsoring the world premier of the movie and released a spot with Brie Larson (Captain Marvel). "The Debriefing" is a digital-only short that introduces the superhero to the tech of the future

It is likely too late to secure last-minute revenue from these campaigns, but sellers should reach out to double check. Afterwards, look for dollars tied to additional electric vehicle promotions. Although Audi is having claims one-third of its new models will be electric by 2025.

Sellers should also keep an eye on additional partnerships with Marvel. Marketing VP Loren Angelo said, "Since Tony Stark introduced the world to the iconic Audi R8 in 2008, Marvel fans have really embraced the brand." I would specifically keep an eye on "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (July 5), "The New Mutants" (August 2) and "Gambit" (March 13, 2020).

Note that Audi typically increases spend during Q2 and Q4 and has a number of non-electric products in the pipeline to try and secure revenue from (e.g., the Core Collection tier of its Audi Select car subscription service). It primarily targets men, especially millennials and Gen-X.

Remember that Audi continues to struggle as four of its top executives were indicted in the Dieselgate scandal.

The brand is trying to reverse these declines, however. The turn around efforts are led in part by Tara Rush, who joined the company in April as SVP and chief communications officer. She reportedlyoversees brand-driven internal and external communications for stakeholders, media, consumers, influencers, dealers and industry associates across categories like corporate, product and lifestyle. She most recently served as chief corporate affairs officer at Heineken.

iSpot reports a YTD national TV spend of $52.6m, $4.5m of which has been dedicated to the new campaign. Spend during the same timeframe of 2018 totaled $22.5m, full 2018 spend totaled $116.7m and 2017 spend totaled $143m. Targeting typically has a male skew (see chart right).

Adbeat reports digital display over the last 12 months has totaled $2.8m and been placed primarily via direct buy (68%), Google (21%) and other (11%) onto sites like espn.com, cbslocal.com, pitchfork.com, espnfc.us and foxsports.com. Ads over the last 24 months have totaled $5.8m and been placed primarily via direct buy (60%), Google (21%) and YouTube (7%) onto sites like espn.com, xfinity.com, youtube.com, theverge.com and cbslocal.com.

Audio also uses print and out-of-home, according to Kantar, but both mediums have seen decreases in recent months. Remember that these efforts are taking a modern, unique approach to entice consumers.

Agency & martech readers -- we put Audi on the PMK BNC has handled PR since 2012.