The Irvine office of advertising agency Young and Rubicam Brands is losing work for automaker Land Rover to the agency’s New York office, industry sources say.
While Y & R; keeps the work, the move is a blow to the Irvine office, which grew on auto work earlier this decade.
The move, unconfirmed by Y & R; and Land Rover, comes as the automaker relocates its North American headquarters from Irvine to New Jersey, where it has customer service, parts and auto service operations.
Rumors began circulating in recent weeks that ad work for Land Rover would follow to the New York area as part of the headquarters move.
The changes come after the June sale of Land Rover and sister company Jaguar by Ford Motor Co. to India’s Tata Motors Ltd.
Mike O’Driscoll, North American managing director of Jaguar, confirmed the previously announced move of Jaguar Land Rover North America LLC to New Jersey but declined to comment on Land Rover’s ad account.
“For some time now we have been looking at consolidating our organization as it makes perfect business sense to have Jaguar and Land Rover back at its original location in New Jersey,” O’Driscoll said.
Irvine and New York representatives with Y & R;, part of London’s WPP Group PLC, declined to comment.
Land Rover spent about $110 million on advertising last year, according to Nielson Co. That figure likely has fallen this year, as Ford cut back on advertising for bigger vehicles before selling Land Rover.
Y & R;’s Irvine office had $384 million in 2007 capitalized billings,a measure of revenue for ad agencies,making it the top agency in the county, according to the Business Journal’s March list.
Ford’s History
The Irvine office has overseen Land Rover’s advertising in North America and 12 other markets, including Russia, China and India.
The office has had the work since Ford moved North American operations for Land Rover and its other European brands to Irvine in 2001.
The auto brands, which once made up Ford’s Premier Automotive Group, since have moved their North American headquarters elsewhere or been sold.
Ford’s remaining European brand, Volvo, moved its North American headquarters from Irvine to New Jersey earlier this year.
A few years back, Ford moved its base for Lincoln Mercury from Irvine back to its original home in the Detroit area.
The departure of Land Rover would follow the 2005 loss of Jaguar for Y & R;’s Irvine office to New York’s Euro RSCG Worldwide Inc., part of France’s Havas.
In March, Y & R; launched a national brand campaign for Land Rover North America just as Ford was readying to sell the struggling luxury automaker.
In June, Tata finalized its $2.3 billion buy of Land Rover and Jaguar. The buy of the upscale British brands was a shift for Tata, a conglomerate known for making inexpensive, small cars.
Land Rover’s ad work is set to shift from Irvine to New York by year’s end, according to industry sources. The move has been a public secret among ad industry executives for weeks.
The work, about a quarter of the Irvine office’s yearly billings, is a sizable but not critical loss for Y & R.;
The office has been steadily replacing lost or declining auto work since the Jaguar departure three years ago.
Y & R; brought in several accounts in the past year or so.
It landed a $70 million account from Carlsbad’s Jenny Craig Inc., part of Nestl & #233; SA, Accenture Interactive’s $30 million account, $20 million in work for Irvine-based Toshiba America Information Systems Inc.’s digital music players and work for Irvine-based Autobytel Inc. worth about $10 million.
In April, Y & R;’s Irvine boss, Rick Eiserman, left to become chief executive of Hollywood-based marketing agency Trailer Park Inc.
Dan Olson, the office’s chief operating officer, took over as chief executive. n
