McCann tipped to win Cadillac XTS launch account

The 2013 XTS is a full-size luxury sedan from the Cadillac brand of General Motors (GM).

A 4A agency head informed Campaign Asia-Pacific that the pitch happened on 15 October, though the undisclosed source could not say which agencies were involved.

Shanghai GM's brands include Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet. All of Buick's creative work belonged to Bates until Lowe China won the new Encore SUV account in August, while all Cadillac and Chevrolet accounts currently belong to McCann. It is understood that the Encore SUV pitch triggered the Cadillac pitch.

“I think McCann will keep the account,” another undisclosed source familiar with McCann China said. "I heard that the Shanghai GM-McCann relationship is not going very well. Maybe the client is just trying to push and scare McCann's new team. That's the typical Shanghai GM style: to control the agency and negotiate the next year's contract."

Campaign Asia-Pacific contacted Tomaz Mok, managing director at McCann Erickson SGM Works, and Jessie Lin, CEO of McCann Worldgroup Greater China, but both declined to comment.

According to the Autoblog site, Cadillac is still a relatively small player in China's premium segment, with just 68 dealers and 30,000 vehicles sold last year. However, it's growing quickly, with March sales up more than 35 percent year-over-year to 2,745 units. General Motors says Cadillac's average buying age is 35, and it expects to have 120 dealers online by the end of this year to meet growing demand.