by Matthew Jones

As part of an ongoing effort to reach out to African-American consumers, Nationwide Insurance recently named Matlock Advertising & Public Relations as its agency of record for African-American marketing.  The insurance leader says it is looking for Matlock to continue their past success in the market.

“We look forward to our partnership with Matlock and we believe their expertise and talent will help us effectively reach the African American market,” said Nancy Barcalow, Officer of Marketing Communications for Nationwide Insurance.”

This has been a very good year for Matlock, which won the BMW USA account back in March.  The agency prides itself on its “Total Solutions” approach – a three-tier process that focuses on building awareness among your target, establishing productive relationship with the community, and promoting sustainable transactions to drive business.

Temerlin Mclain, an IPG Company, is Nationwide’s general market agency, and Publicis Sanchez Levitan is the agency of record for the Hispanic market.

For Matlock, it will be another case study in how ethnic agencies can effectively share clients with larger, mainstream agencies.  But Matlock Executive Vice President Ed Rutland does not worry about such arrangements.

“For some clients, it really requires work (to share with general market agencies),” Rutland told DIB back in June.  “But if the client really believes that diversity marketing is the way to go, then it doesn’t have to be an uphill battle.”

In general, Matlock’s clients take a full-on teamwork approach with their roster agencies, where the strategic planning, the media planning and client presentations happen jointly.  While the general market agency may take the lead in many cases, the work is done and presented as a complete team.

For more information on Matlock, visit the dib archives (Matlock Advertising & Public Relations: Total Solutions for Leading Brands – July 2003 edition)

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