• by Tanya Gazdik , June 28, 2023

Stellantis North America is adding an agency to its creative roster that the automaker categorizes as its “first-ever agency of record dedicated to Black audience marketing efforts."

TKT & Associates will oversee Black marketing efforts across the Stellantis North America brand portfolio of Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, FIAT, Jeep and Ram. 

The Black- and woman-owned agency is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and is exploring the possibility of opening a Detroit office, says Kimberly L. Bunton, chief executive officer and chief strategy officer of TKT Collab division, which will oversee creative efforts within TKT & Associates agency.

The agency has previously worked with other automakers, including Toyota and Hyundai, as well as major companies including Humana, GE Appliance and Omni Hotels and Resorts. 

Inside the automaker itself, Kim Adams House will lead multicultural marketing efforts for Stellantis North America in addition to her current licensing and merchandising responsibilities. House previously held the role of head of Jeep brand advertising in North America.   

It was under House that Global Hue, the automaker’s former multicultural agency, was elevated to AOR for all Jeep advertising in 2010. The automaker and the agency parted ways in 2015. 

TKT & Associates was chosen after a competitive review which included an RFP from “five or six” agencies, says Marissa Hunter, senior vice president of marketing, Stellantis North America. 

A spokesperson for the automaker declined to specify what its budget is for Black marketing efforts. 

The moves help ensure that “we are truly speaking to different audience groups to reach all consumers while not only believing in diversity but practicing it every day,” Hunter said during a video media conference Tuesday to announce the selection. 

TKT & Associates was one of 13 companies from across the nation chosen for the National Black Supplier Development Program orchestrated by Stellantis and the National Business League in 2021.

The pilot, which ran through the first quarter of 2022, is part of a larger program to develop Black suppliers for future contracting and procurement opportunities in pursuit of greater racial equity in the marketplace.