DLKW beats Lowe to the £12m Astra relaunch

Vauxhall UK has awarded the &£12m UK advertising business for the launch of its new Astra to Delaney Lund Knox Warren (DLKW).

The decision to award the new Astra to DLKW was taken after a pitch against joint roster agency Lowe last week. DLKW had already won the current model from Lowe (MW October 3, 2002).

The news comes as the car company’s parent General Motors consolidated its &£97m UK media buying and planning account into Initiative Media. The &£20m Saab account moves from sister Interpublic agency Universal McCann to Initiative, which already has the Vauxhall and Daewoo brands.

The joint media arrangements are part of an integration of GM sales and marketing operations across the UK and Europe, overseen by Jonathan Browning, GM Europe vice-president for sales, marketing and aftersales. All three brands will share back office functions and their strategies will be co-ordinated to make sure they do not compete against each other. GM is also likely to sanction more dealerships with franchises for all three brands.

The current Vauxhall Astra model is the third best-selling car in the UK, despite it being replaced by a newer model next year. The new Astra, which will be launched in the UK in spring, is a crucial car for the company, and will compete head on with Volkswagen’s new Golf.