Jan Kelley has picked up a fully integrated assignment for Mitsubishi Motors Canada, picking up AOR duties for brand and retail communications, as well as media buying and planning.
Selected following what was described as a lengthy RFP process, Chantel Broten, president and CEO of Jan Kelley, says a driving factor in Jan Kelley winning the Mitsubishi work was that it could offer a more integrated approach to media and creative, which will lead to “better results” for the automaker.
“The opportunity to develop those game-changing ideas and achieve breakthrough results has to happen through deep integration of creative and media,” Broten explains. “What was appealing to them about Jan Kelley is that we do both pieces of that, so we can help drive both the creative and performance digital piece. There’s an effectiveness and efficiency component to this.”
The new work comes at a time of change for Mitsubishi, which has refreshed its lineup of vehicles and launched a new flagship in the 2022 Outlander crossover SUV. The auto company is undertaking a shift to a digital-first marketing strategy and has recruited Jan Kelley to facilitate that strategy and drive growth for the challenger brand.
“They have aggressive growth goals, and our mandate is to help them achieve those,” Broten says. “As a challenger brand, the way you progress and win is you have to be willing to challenge the status quo, do things differently and look for unique and innovative ways to break through, which means moving away from more traditional media into digital and adopting a true performance-based model.”
According to Broten, Mitsubishi’s position and culture as a challenger brand make it a perfect fit for Jan Kelley, which works well “with clients who are ready, willing and open to do things differently.”
Jan Kelley’s contract with Mitsubishi is for three years, with the opportunity to renew. Broten says the agency is partnered with Larouche Branding and Communications to handle the Quebec market.
Jan Kelley assignment with Mitsubishi has already begun, including a spring lease and finance campaign and the launches of the 2022 Eclipse Cross and Outlander.
[iframe_vimeo video = “534007803”]
John St. previously led creative for the automaker, but did not participate in the RFP process. On the media front, buying was previously split between several agency networks in Canada.
