Zipcar taps ad agency Campbell Ewald, hires new CMO
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NEW YORK -- Hourly car rental firm Zipcar, in the process of getting a new parent company, has selected Interpublic Group of Cos.' Campbell Ewald, the former longtime Chevy ad agency, as its new global creative and brand strategy agency, the company said in a statement.
Separately, Zipcar has hired Brian Harrington for the CMO role, according to Advertising Age, an affiliate of Automotive News.
The agency selection, announced Wednesday, follows a lengthy agency review going back to last summer and the departure of CMO Rob Weisberg shortly after the process began. Avis Budget Group agreed to buy the hourly car-rental company last month for nearly $500 million -- the deal is expected to close this spring.
Harrington joined Zipcar as its new CMO this month, according to LinkedIn. He was most recently the principal of Boston-based boutique consultancy The Harbor Group.
Zipcar's selection of an Interpublic agency ensures that the Avis and Zipcar brand marketing strategies remain independent, with support from different holding companies.
Full Contact had handled various creative duties for the company. The agency did not immediately respond to a call for comment.
In February 2012, Avis consolidated its media and creative duties within Publicis Groupe, selecting Spark as its media agency and Leo Burnett as its creative agency. By August, it dropped its 50 year-old tagline, "We try harder," in favor of Burnett's tagline "It's your space."
The company had worked with Interpublic Group of Cos.' McCann and WPP's Mediacom prior to the shift, which was made under Avis CMO Jeannine Haas.
Zipcar also hired Publicis' Digitas late last year to handle digital-media planning and buying.
The Avis review and most recent Zipcar review come as hourly car-rental brands find themselves competing in a rapidly crowding category.
Last year, Enterprise, which operates the Enterprise, Alamo and National brands, acquired hourly rental company Mint Cars On-Demand. Hertz said it planned to equip its entire 375,000-vehicle U.S. fleet for hourly rental and acquired Dollar Thrifty for $2.6 billion.
Adding to the fray are also companies like Car2Go, a Daimler car-sharing subsidiary, and RelayRides, a car-sharing startup that recently inked a partnership with General Motors. In 2011, Zipcar spent about $7 million on measured media, according to Kantar Media.
