THIS WEEK: Vauxhall to shift below-the-line effort up a gear

Vauxhall is set to become the first major car manufacturer to follow

FMCG brands into greater below-the-line marketing by spending up to 30%

of its pounds 58.6m advertising budget on database marketing.

The company is extending its strategy of building personality into its

cars using TV ads, following the Astra ‘Babies’ and Vectra Estate ads by

Lowe Howard-Spink. The next car to get the treatment will be the Corsa,

which will lose Ruby Wax as its spokeswoman.

The increasing emphasis on below-the-line activity will include the

introduction of a database next year, compiled using sales information

from dealers and users of the company’s Web site. Vauxhall aims to build

a conversation with consumers using direct mail, the Internet and direct

response ads.

Marketing director Wolfgang Schubert said most future Vauxhall ads would

feature a direct response element. ‘You have to ask yourself what is the

objective of any advertising without communication. If direct marketing

via our database gives us higher value, I would be happy to direct 30%

of our ad budget into direct marketing,’ he said.

This article was first published on Marketing