A Rock Song, An Indie Band and - Buick?
Published Wednesday, 16 November, 2011 by Darrin Michael. Categories: Buick.
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a music
video about your favorite car?
We'll if you're a fan of the Buick Regal then you're in luck.
To promote the sound system in one of the company's new models, Buick recently had indie band Hellogoodbye write a song about taking a road trip in a 2012 Buick Regal Turbo sport sedan. The project was a partnership with the Harman/Kardon stereo equipment company and Digitas, a digital agency who filmed and edited the video.
The end results of their efforts included the creation of a new song, music video, and short film.
The project, born out of a road trip and documented by musicians, shows how powerful branding and social media integration has become a vital marketing tool.
According to Chris Ayotte, Buick National Promotions Manager, the car company is reaching out to 18 to 34-year-old social media savvy music enthusiasts.
"We were looking for a young band that is taking a new direction in their path, a band that is searching for a new sound and willing to take risks," Ayotte said.
Digitas Boston and Detroit executive director Barbara Goose said they worked with both Harman/Kardon and Buick during the campaign. While Digitas did the filming and editing, they worked closely with Buick on the last cuts. "From inspiring the lyrics to partnering with Harman/Kardon on the audio, Buick has uniquely integrated itself into the track in a way which is both authentic and engaging -- everything that an active brand should be," Goose said.
The car and audio companies gave the band two days to write, record, and road-test a song. The process was documented in the short film, "One From the Road." It is available on both Hellogoodbye's and Buick's YouTube page. The film is a showcase for not just the band, but also Buick and the Harman/Kardon stereo equipment.
The fruits of the bands efforts led to the creation of the song "Killing Time" which can be downloaded for free at Facebook.com/Buick. The band was chosen by Buick for their appeal to young social media users. The band also has 512,00 fans on Facebook to go along with Buick's 125,000. Hellogoodbye also has 25,000 Twitter followers and approximately 423,000 YouTube views.
This type of project serves to help all parties by taking advantage of the resources each has to offer.
According to officials with Buick, we'll likely begin to see similar projects in the future.
Tags: buick, Buick Regal
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