Hyundai Dealer Advertising Associations Pick The Richards Group.

The four Hyundai Motor America Dealer Advertising Associations (HDAA) announced they have hired The Richards Group as their advertising agency of record. Awarded the Hyundai Motor America brand work earlier this year, the agency now assumes creative assignments for each of the four regional Hyundai Dealer Advertising Associations. Billings are estimated at $200 million, bringing the total Hyundai win to $360 million at Richards. Media responsibilities will continue to be handled by Carat North America.

“We were drawn to The Richards Group’s rich history in retail branding and advertising for such clients as The Home Depot, Motel 6 and Chick-fil-A,” said Hal Philipson, Vice President of the Southern States HDAA and Chairman of the collective associations’ Dealer Council. “We also recognize the value of using a single organization for both our national and regional communications.”

The Richards Group was awarded the national creative assignment for Hyundai Motor America in May. The agency unveiled dealer creative as part of the presentation for the national business in April. Dealer creative was presented to, and approved by, the Hyundai Dealer Advertising Associations’ Creative Committee in June. The Richards Group and the HDAA will break new advertising in October including TV, radio, print, outdoor and point of sale materials.

“We are thrilled to be working for the U.S. Hyundai dealerships,” said Stan Richards, founder and principal for The Richards Group. “Hyundai is an incredible brand experiencing tremendous success — they’ve tripled their U.S. market share over the past three years. We look forward to helping each dealer continue to build on that success.”