“It’s a tremendous opportunity for us. It is not something that we take lightly, working with the fourth largest automotive company in the world. And we appreciate the opportunity to have the creative expression and energy to connect [Stellantis] with the Black community,” said Bunton.
TKT joins a creative roster that also includes Highdive, which worked with Jeep and Ram on Super Bowl ads, plus GSD&M on Dodge, Doner on Chrysler, Migrante on Hispanic marketing, and various other agencies on a project basis.
Working with multicultural communities
The naming of TKT is part of Stellantis’ commitment to establish meaningful, long-standing relationships with diverse audiences, according to Hunter. She noted the company’s integrated diversity marketing campaigns across Ram, Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge, along with product placement partnerships across music and film that featured diverse talents.
Recently, Stellantis announced a multi-year partnership with Derek Jeter and his wife, Hannah. In addition, the Dodge brand is now the company’s youngest average age demographic and the most diverse brand in its North American portfolio, and the Jeep brand has had a longtime partnership with the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy.
Stellantis was formed at the beginning of 2021 after a merger between FCA and Peugeot S.A. In its previous and current iterations, the company has worked with several Black and multicultural agencies.
In the mid-2000s, Global Hue won the global Jeep account and was the multicultural agency for the Chrysler Group. It worked on, among other campaigns, the “I Live, I Ride, I Am” campaign for Jeep.
In 2021, Stellantis added Ignition Media Group to its marketing roster as a consultant, serving as a sounding board and multicultural thought partner for its marketing strategies.
The brand will continue its efforts to expand its multicultural representation in its marketing.
“We want to ensure that we acknowledge, that we see these communities. And it’s not just about ticking the box. For us, it is about really understanding, through cultural insights, that we can develop our campaigns and creative executions that align with their experiences that are unique and oftentimes different than general market campaigns,” said House.
TKT is considering opening up a Detroit office to work more closely with Stellantis on its efforts. A Jeep brand campaign will be the first project for TKT, though it is still in its formative phase.