Volkswagen has awarded its creative advertising account for the GCC and Levant to Memac Ogilvy following a final two-way agency shootout.
The win brings to a close a pitch process that began in May, with Memac Ogilvy taking over the account from previous incumbent DDB.
Speaking of the appointment, Mona El-Mahdi, brand communications manager at Volkswagen Middle East, said: “Memac Ogilvy truly encapsulated our brand and our positioning and understood the challenges in the Middle East. Memac Ogilvy also has a strong connection to the brand, with Ogilvy being the creative agency for Volkswagen in South Africa. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with the team and producing innovative and inspiring creative that will appeal to and excite our customers throughout the region.”
The account covers everything from TV to print, outdoor and online, with Memac Ogilvy’s remit including the creation of collateral for the launch of new models and follow-up campaigns for existing models. It will also be tasked with rolling out brand campaigns for the entire region.
Volkswagen is Europe’s biggest carmaker and recorded record profits in 2010, with net profit hitting $9.9 billion. It is likely to exceed this figure in 2011. The group, which also owns brands like Audi, Lamborghini, Skoda and Seat, witnessed three-fold leaps in net profit for the first half of this year, rising to $11.3 billion.
Is this the end of DDB in the region I wonder?
DDB still have a good chunk of Pepsi (and are growing) so rest assured they will be here for a long (long) time
Good to hear, it’s a good old brand 🙂
Are DDB moving to Qatar?? Word on the street…. or was that ImpactBBDO
Great brand in VW – not sure about the team they have here! Did you see the Jetta Facebook thing real shame…