• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 1, 2024

NP Digital has been appointed the Agency of Record (AOR) for all media by Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada.

The choice and expansion builds on earned media and analytics work during the past 18 months.

NP Digital will lead the development and execution of media strategies to drive the brand’s growth across the Canadian market, and will partner closely with Ogilvy, which has been selected for creative production.

Steve Carter, marketing director at Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada, noted NP Digital’s independence as a strength, meaning that the agency does not belong to a large holding company.  

NP Digital is “agile,” with a well-positioned “structure” to support Mitsubishi’s needs, he said, making it easier to “build on recent momentum and achieve our ambitious growth plans in Canada.”

Mitsubishi Motors saw record growth driven by models like the Outlander PHEV, and the company believes NP Digital’s technical media skills will support its ongoing success.

Ronnie Malewski, Canadian managing director at NP Digital -- who joined the company from Dentsu three years ago to build out the agency’s presence in Canada -- said the goal has been to stay laser focused to support brands like Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada.

“We gave them examples of how we can reach specific demographic to make their media go far,” Malewski said. “We mapped where their EV sales come from and where they have dealerships and possible gaps and the role media can play.”

Malewski also spoke about studies to map media, analyzing media effectiveness, and forecasting timeframes  such as how long it could take for a consumer exposed to an ad to make the decision to purchase a car.

Building out the agency from nothing required NP Digital in Canada to invest in people, Malewski said.

“We hired many of our clients who wanted to work at and agency and took people from different background,” he said. “We also went into the data, and we’re all in it together. All of us love marketing and advertising.”

Malewski, who now has a support team of more than 50 employees, is on a hiring spree to serve at least 54 clients. “We started with zero revenue three years ago, saying no a lot to things that would be a distraction,” he said. “There’s something in the power of saying no when focused on supporting those companies we thought we could have an impact on.”

NP Digital had previously supported Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada through data tracking, measurement, customer journey mapping and more, to build a complete data framework.

When asked if he thought Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada would expand support to other regions, Malewski said “they have not hinted at that, but we had done work with LG, starting off in Canada, and now they have been inquiring about other areas.” 

Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada AOR marks the latest in a series of achievements for NP Digital Canada, including appointments with major brands in Education, Retail and SAAS, including Lee Valley, LG, and the Schulich School of Business.