Stellantis names first Black ad agency of record and it's female-owned

Stellantis is bolstering its creative roster with its first Black agency of record.

The automaker said TKT & Associates, through its TKT Collab division, will be tasked with reaching Black consumers for Stellantis' North American brand portfolio consisting of Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep and Ram. TKT also is the automaker's first female-owned agency of record.

The agency will report to Kim Adams House, the head of merchandising, licensing and multicultural marketing. House, who once led Jeep advertising in North America, recently added multicultural marketing for Stellantis North America.

The Louisville, Ky., agency was founded in 2006 by the late Tierra Kavanaugh Wayne. Its Collab division was created in 2020.

TKT was among 13 Black-owned companies chosen for the 2021 pilot run of the National Black Supplier Development Program launched by Stellantis and the National Business League, the organization founded by Booker T. Washington in 1900. The initiative provides the companies with training and allows for direct interaction with Stellantis leaders, business experts and Tier 1 suppliers.

The program sent the companies through a training slate that guided them on topics such as brand creation, managing finances and refining their elevator pitches.

Kimberly Bunton, CEO of TKT Collab, said the supplier development program is the reason the agency landed this opportunity.

Going through the program gave the agency the ability to interface "with a good number of divisions of Stellantis on behalf of TKT," Bunton told reporters Tuesday. "It is probably supplier diversity at its best. Being able to go through a program and to learn the different personalities and cultures of the divisions and the people that we're working with definitely gave us an edge in being able to craft messaging and creative around the culture of a company and connect it with the Black community collectively."

TKT is thinking about opening a Detroit office to be closer to Stellantis, Bunton said.
 

House said Stellantis conducted a months-long search, reviewing "five or six agencies" before landing on TKT. The decision was based on the agency's "creative, their strategic framework that they brought forward and a number of other factors," House said.

TKT will begin its Stellantis run with a Jeep campaign. Now in its early stages, the campaign is expected to launch in a few months.

The agency created a video that was shown at the Stellantis African Ancestry Network Diaspora Gala this past weekend. A spokesperson said the spot, which was shown to reporters Tuesday, is an internal production and won't be shared externally.

"Partnering with TKT & Associates to lead our Black audience marketing efforts across the North America brand portfolio will allow us to ensure we are authentically speaking to different audiences, strengthening relationships with diverse audiences and embracing all consumer audiences by practicing diversity every single day," Marissa Hunter, senior vice president of marketing for Stellantis North America, said on Tuesday.