u.s. agency Arnold Fortuna Lawner & Cabot, which picked up Volkswagen’s corporate account for North America late last month, is expected to open a satellite office in Toronto to help service the Canadian portion of the business.
Boston-based Arnold Fortuna already has several small shops in u.s. cities, primarily handling the agency’s work for McDonald’s.
Ron Lawner, agency vice-chairman and chief creative officer, says he expects the new car account will lead to the opening of several satellite offices.
Other agencies short-listed in the Volkswagen review, which began in December, were: The Richards Group of Dallas; DDB Needham Worldwide, New York, and Deutsch, New York.
Volkswagen rolled its estimated $20-million Canadian ad account into the u.s. account shortly before the review was called.
The u.s. incumbent was Omnicon’s Berlin Cameron Doyle.
Before the consolidation, the Canadian business had been with DDB Needham in Toronto for more than 30 years.
Five Canadian agencies continue to handle regional and dealer assignments for creative and media.
Gee Jeffery & Partners of Toronto has the Ontario and Eastern Canada assignment; Moreland & Associates of Vancouver has Western Canada; PALM Publicite Marketing handles Quebec, and, also in Toronto, Terry O Communications takes care of the ethnic Chinese market while Exhibits International handles vw’s trade show requirements.
In January, Audi of America, a vw division, assigned responsibility for Canadian creative and media to its u.s. agency, McKinney & Silver, of Raleigh, n.c.
