Initiative‘s Toronto office has won English media planning and buying duties for Hyundai Auto Canada following the automaker’s decision to move its advertising account from Bensimon Byrne to Innocean.
Independently run Bensimon had handled both creative and media duties for the brand, but lost the account in February to Innocean, which is owned by Hyundai.
Initiative, one of Interpublic‘s Mediabrands companies, has held the media account in the U.S. for two years and will officially take over in Canada on May 10.
“There wasn’t really a review,” said Michele Pauchuk, executive vice-president and managing director of Initiative’s Toronto office. “The client liked the work they were getting so much in the U.S. that we initiated a conversation about working on Hyundai in Canada as well.”
Innocean will serve as “media managers,” according to Pauchuk, who said Innocean is “just as much our client as Hyundai. They do media oversight as they do in the U.S. We’re doing planning and buying, and they’re kind of like the account management people.”
Hyundai liked the possibility of synergies with the American operations, said Pauchuk, adding she expects a tweak in the brand’s media strategy as the operations are integrated.
“We’ll also be applying our proprietary way of approaching business through Exchanges, our internal process [of getting] consumer insight fed by an online panel,” Pauchuk said. “We look at people’s affinity to media: why do they use it as well as how much they use.”
Hyundai works with several other media agencies in Canada. Zenith Optimedia handles corporate media buying in French and English markets as well as the dealer association’s English-language buying. Tequila, which has offices in Montreal and Quebec, handles dealer associate media buying and planning (in addition to its creative assignments).
John Vernile, vice-president, marketing for Hyundai, said the brand’s main consumer media buyer for Quebec had yet to be determined, and would not comment on whether a review was under way.
