The Newport Beach office of Southfield, Mich.-based Doner Co. suffered a major blow last month after Irvine-based Mazda North American Operations awarded its $150 million yearly advertising account to Dearborn, Mich.-based Team Detroit.
The automaker, part of Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp., ended a 13-year relationship with Doner, which originally opened a West Coast office to handle the account.
The loss of Mazda is a big hit, but not the death blow many expected, according to a source familiar with the agency.
Mazda represented 20% of the agency’s overall business. A sizable percentage of the Mazda work was done out of Newport Beach.
But the local office has managed to pick up other accounts in the past few years, including Lake Forest-based fast food chain Del Taco LLC, Minneapolis-based health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Newport Beach-based Hawaiian fusion restaurant chain Roy’s, part of Florida-based OSI Restaurant Partners LLC.
Last month, Doner added the Brea arm of Pasadena’s Avery Dennison Corp.
It became agency of record for Avery’s office and consumer product group. The account previously was awarded to various agencies on a project basis.
It also picked up some project work for ProtectMyId.com, part of Britain’s Experian Group Ltd.
Before the loss of Mazda, Doner’s Newport Beach office had yearly billings of about $300 million and some 80 workers.
Of course, Mazda’s loss will be felt.
Doner’s Newport Beach office is expected to shed a majority of its workers, a source familiar with the agency said.
The agency was known for its “Zoom, Zoom” line used in much of Mazda’s commercials and print ads.
Mazda intends to keep the “Zoom, Zoom” tagline.
Team Detroit, part of Britain’s WPP PLC, won the account after the automaker launched an advertising review in March.
Team Detroit handles the bulk of Ford Motor Co.’s advertising duties.
Ford has an 11% stake in Mazda, which may have helped in selecting the WPP group. A group of WPP agencies also handle Mazda advertising in Europe.
It’s unclear if Team Detroit will open an office near the automaker as many WPP firms already have Los Angeles and Orange County offices, including the Irvine office of New York-based Wunderman.
Bandai: TV Still Works
Cypress-based toymaker Bandai America Inc. is looking to TV to drive upcoming toy sales even as it ups its Internet marketing.
The toymaker, part of Tokyo’s Namco Bandai Holdings Inc., largely has used TV advertising to reach kids and parents.
“We have found through research, TV is still the key driver,” said Mark Schaffner, executive vice president of toys at Bandai. “Kids are still in front of the TV.”
Bandai airs ads before and during kids’ shows on channels including Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.
With a trend of remaking cartoons from the 1980s, Bandai has stepped up its advertising to reach parents who may have grown up with TV shows such as “ThunderCats” and “Transformers.”
“We want the advertising to strike a chord with parents who will say ‘I had fun with those toys when I was a kid, my kid might too,’” Schaffner said.
The toymaker has expanded its advertising to include Internet marketing.
“We continue to drive our social media messaging because you have both the collectors and the new consumers,” Schaffner said.
The Internet has become one of the biggest challenges for toymakers as they try to sell to kids who have grown up online.
The toymaker’s social media marketing has altered how it advertises on TV.
“You have to be laser focused on your target audience and you have to drive that message to the various parties,” Schaffner said. “Our experience with social media has refined our media buying strategies.”
Bandai also is ramping up sales events with retailers to attract kids back into stores, Schaffner said.
Social Media Push
Foothill Ranch-based Alacer Corp., maker of Emergen-C vitamin drink mixes, has stepped up its social media marketing.
The company, which sells nearly 400 million packets of Emergen-C annually through retail stores and online, launched its “Share the Good” campaign targeting Facebook and Twitter users.
The campaign allows social media users to get or give friends free sample packets of Emergen-C.
The company hired New York-based marketing agency Walrus to handle the campaign.
Alacer has done traditional campaigns in the past with TV, radio and print, particularly during cold and flu season. This is Alacer’s first concentrated social media effort.
The company is looking to ramp up overall advertising with $10 million invested in TV, radio and print campaigns this year.
