European car brand Alfa Romeo has announced the appointment of Y&R Melbourne as its new lead creative agency following a competitive pitch.

Y&R Melbourne will lead creative advertising services for the Alfa Romeo brand and vehicles.

Fulvio Antonelli, director of marketing and product for Alfa Romeo said: “We have a huge 2018 planned with big ambitions for Alfa Romeo in Australia. To realise these ambitions, we needed the right strategic creative agency partner.

“The exhaustive pitch process we went through proved to us Y&R was the best agency to push forward the Alfa Romeo brand in line with what we want to achieve. We are delighted to have Y&R Melbourne on board and cannot wait to start this exciting journey with them.”

Matt Farrugia, managing partner at Y&R Melbourne, said: “We love working with ambitious clients, and are absolutely thrilled to be doing so for such an esteemed brand as Alfa Romeo.”

“The automotive category has been increasingly saturated by choice and challenged by changing customer expectations, particularly with the rise of category challenges like Uber, GoGet and others.

“We look forward to working with Alfa Romeo to enhance its brand and customer experience in a way that sets it apart.

“The brand is on the verge of a renaissance. The impressive new line-up, both mechanically and stylistically, that the Giulia and soon to be launched Stelvio represent, gives the brand incredible room for growth.

“At Y&R, we simply can’t wait to get started – as agencies, partners and passionate drivers.”