Chrysler Group Names PentaMark Worldwide New Advertising Agency 
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Auburn Hills, Mich. - The Chrysler Group announced it would consolidate all advertising for its brands under one agency - BBDO Worldwide, a unit of Omnicom Group. The new, exclusive agency will be renamed PentaMark Worldwide, and in an unprecedented move, will give Board representation to DaimlerChrysler Corporation. 

The multi-billion dollar account is believed to be the largest in the automotive industry and, in its new configuration, will deliver significant savings to DaimlerChrysler and its Dealer Advertising Associations. 

PentaMark will be responsible for global advertising for the Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge brands, as well as non-product Chrysler Group advertising. As in the past, media responsibilities will be managed by PentaCom in North America and by DCMA for the rest of the world (except Germany).  

The announcement follows a two-month agency review during which DaimlerChrysler asked its two major agencies, BBDO Worldwide and FCB Worldwide (a subsidiary of True North Communications) for proposals to consolidate the business and redesign the communication process. 

As part of the new partnership, the Chrysler Group account will be managed by a single agency solely devoted to Chrysler business with separate internal divisions for Dodge cars and trucks and the Chrysler and Jeep brands. There will also be separate field groups to service the Dealer Advertising Associations (112 in the U.S. alone) throughout the world. Significant efficiencies will be realized in consolidated costs related to overhead, production, media buying, human resources and other "back office" operations. 

“This is taking supplier partnerships to a new level," said Arthur “Bud” Liebler, Senior Vice President, Chrysler Group Marketing. "We have always looked upon our agencies as partners in our Extended Enterprise, and now with board representation, we'll have more in-depth understanding of the agency's issues and how to deal with them. According to Liebler, both agencies presented equally compelling proposals for consolidation. "We've always said this wasn't about the creative product or account teams. We were happy with both.  

This was all about which partner would provide the greatest long-term strategic solutions and resources to lead us into the future. And, at the end of the day, we expect a number of the important players on the FCB team to move over to PentaMark to form a whole new entity," he said. 

A 180-day termination clause in both of the Chrysler Group's current contracts will enable BBDO and FCB to transfer their existing projects to the new agency. Chrysler hopes the transition can be completed in less than half that time. Also, members of the PentaMark management team will be named during this period. 

(November 3, 2000)