Will a new agency improve BMW advertising?

Another question that needs to be asked is why BMW has chosen this particular moment to look at getting a new agency?

Admittedly the work Hunt Lascaris has been doing in recent times is not as great or dramatic as that of a decade ago. Quite simply, I would imagine, because most BMW TV commercials used in SA these days are imported to save costs. All of which has left Hunt Lascaris unable to prove themselves the way they did with the Beat the Benz and Mouse commercials.

Strange time to change

One could accept BMW wanting to make the change six month ago or more, because Hunt Lascaris looked like they were battling on all sorts of fronts. But right now they're back at the top of the creative league table and business is going a lot better. John Hunt is back in South Africa after a sojourn in the USA, which must surely give clients some sort of encouragement. Seems a strange time to make changes.

I would guess that personalities are involved in this case. When you look at the root cause of agency/client relationships breaking down, it is almost always because of a clash of personalities.

All of which makes me wonder why clients keep choosing agencies on every criterion other than human compatibility.

Damned either way

This time 'round BMW asked pitching agencies to look back at the last four or five years of BMW advertising and present a critique as part of their presentation.

Small wonder Hunt Lascaris elected not to play the game, because they'd be damned if they did and damned if they didn't give an entirely honest critique of their own work.

This sort of thing is the advertising equivalent of a hospital pass in rugby.

Apart from being unfair to the incumbent, what this little exercise demonstrates is that BMW seems bent on awarding the account on fairly frivolous criteria. A pitch strategy that very rarely works.

Frankly, I don't suppose that domestic South African advertising is as important to BMW these days as it was 16 years ago, when Hunt Lascaris took over from Grey. Quite simply because, in those days, BMW South Africa desperately needed to sell as many cars as possible in South Africa because that was the only market it had.

Imported commercials

Nowadays, however, with the domestic market representing a relatively small proportion of its local manufacturing output and its export sales booming, the company simply does not have to make the same amount of marketing effort locally. And, certainly, while those imported commercials might well not be entirely suited to the SA market, they certainly save a lot of production costs. Having said that, it's all pound foolish and penny wise.

It's a sign of the times I suppose. Right now the majority of SA motor manufacturers are making a bundle out of their exports, and with the domestic market contributing less and less every year, it is small wonder that local customer service complaints are increasing.

While having BMW on their list of clients will be wonderful for the winning agency, I'm not convinced they're going to be able to demonstrate too much creativity in terms of big budget campaigns, but will probably have to be happy being able to at least pick up the crumbs.

I wonder - are Hunt Lascaris being wimps by not giving up without a fight, or are they just being businesslike in accepting, as they did with SAA, that when incompatibility kicks in divorce is inevitable?