Miles Calcraft beats three to £6m Subaru business

Japanese car manufacturer Subaru is understood to have appointed Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy to work on its £6m advertising account.

Miles Calcraft pitched against Mother, Walsh Trott Chick Smith and Palmer Hargreaves Wallis Tomlinson, the Birmingham-based incumbent on the business for the past 14 years. It is not yet clear whether the agency has won the entire business or whether it will work for the marque on a project basis.

Subaru is doubling its ad spend to £6m in an attempt to increase its market share in the UK. The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that Subaru’s sales for January this year are up 35 per cent on the same period in 2004. However, after a strong January the company had a disappointing February, selling 205 cars compared with 275 in the same month last year.

The company’s market share is less than 0.4 per cent and it does not have a significant advertising presence in the UK. But the arrival of former BMW marketer Peter Kinnaird as managing director at the end of last year signalled the start of a more aggressive strategy.

Walsh Trott Chick Smith handles the advertising for Subaru’s sister marque Daihatsu.

Brilliant Media is believed to be unaffected by the advertising review at Subaru.