The Monkeys wins Holden SUV creative account as brand admits it has gotten ‘lost in the mix’ of its competitors
Holden has appointed The Monkeys to launch its new Holden SUV, Equinox, Mumbrella can reveal.
Mark Harland, director of marketing and customer experience at Holden told Mumbrella automotive marketing in Australia had become unremarkable, with the once-meaningful Holden brand getting lost in the mix.
Incumbent agency AJF Partnership will remain on the roster and take responsibility for the motor company’s retail creative account.
I’ve worked on part of the Holden account. The Monkeys have their work cut out. The biggest problem is that Holden’s cars just aren’t that great. Then there’s the incredibly tight control that procurement has over marketing expenditure. Good luck.
Automotive advertising being unremarkable is quite a sweeping statement, as there is some real great work appearing lately (Hyundai, Honda etc..) Does it help sell cars? Probably not, but it’s nice to look at.
In reality, a car ad only does so much (minimal at best), make a great looking car with the right features at a competitive price and you’re already on your way. Start looking internal, not external, for the answers.
I agree on automotive advertising in Aus. Full of cliches and lacking distinctiveness. It’s not all bad, but the majority is.
Pretty sure Holden lost traction in the Australian market when they decided to not make an Australian car in Australia any more…
Much of the research I’ve seen on car purchasers puts older people in the prime target position and yet every ad seems to feature a bunch of twenty somethings with neither the cash nor the desire to buy the vehicle they’re advertising.
The myth that older people want to be made to feel younger by looking at happy, younger people in ads is just that, a myth.
Like everything, if you want to sell cars you have to go where the money is.
On a side note, Holden has no choice but to be emotional. There’s no rational reason you’d buy one anymore.
The Monkeys might need to hire some senior female creatives with auto experience in Melbourne to deliver on their promise to communicate with female car purchasers.
Good luck guys. It will take a bit more than creative advertising for me to buy a Holden again.
I’m the guy that’s bought new Holdens and used Holdens since I was seventeen. But now that they’ve stopped Aussie manufacture I see no point whatsoever in buying from them. The current Commodore is a class act but anything else they sell is imported also rans.
I really can’t understand why they continue to use the name “Holden”.