Mitsubishi loss caps tough year for agency

By IRENE CHAPPLE

Advertising agency Young & Rubicam has lost the multimillion-dollar Mitsubishi Motors account in the final blow of a bad year.

Young & Rubicam is expected to make some major changes to its business next year, with managing director Ross Goldsack leaving his Wellington base next month to run the agency from Auckland.

Mitsubishi Motors marketing manager Ross Cameron said yesterday that a new agency had yet to be appointed to the account, worth about $10 million in media spending and about $3.5 million in billings.

Cameron said he was hoping to tell all the agencies of a result today, but a formal announcement might not be made until early next week.

However, Ross Goldsack confirmed Young & Rubicam had lost the business.

Wellington agency Clemenger BBDO is considered most likely to win the account over contenders M&C Saatchi and McCann Erickson.

The news is another blow for Young & Rubicam, which has been troubled by account losses through the year.

The agency gave up the DB Breweries brand Tui a week before the AXIS creative awards after it was asked to enter a surprise repitch against M&C Saatchi. The agency subsequently took the AXIS award for the "Yeah, Right" billboards.

The agency also lost the bulk of its Woolworths account, a major one, when it was taken over by Foodland.

Then it lost Tower's Insurance account, made three staff redundant, and last month chief executive Peter Scutts and creative director Gordon Clarke quit.

The latest loss will mean six more redundancies, leaving about 50 people in the Auckland office and about 15 in Wellington. Billings were last pegged at around $69.4 million.

Goldsack has already swept out the unpopular young&rubicam.thinking moniker and has renamed the agency Young and Rubicam Advertising.

Chrissie Lahood, former Wellington creative director, has been appointed to the position for both offices.

Goldsack would not comment on any further changes, saying he wanted to wait until the New Year.