February 2, 2009
Discovering Hyundai, discovering results

Automakers are in a tough spot. Credit is tight and gas is not cheap. So how do you launch a luxury performance vehicle in a time when consumer spending is low? How do you do it when your brand is aligned with value, not luxury? These were the challenges facing Hyundai in 2008 as it broke into the luxury market with the Hyundai Genesis.

The planning team at Jack Morton fixed on a simple brand truth: the Genesis cried out for a hands-on experience that would play to the preferences of car passionates, who are typically skeptical of conventional media and more primed to “discover their own truth” about Hyundai.

We looked at three distinct audiences critical to the success of the Hyundai Genesis: car enthusiasts, consumers and opinion leaders.


Car Enthusiasts
These guys love to talk cars and are trusted advisors to friends and family purchasing new cars. They are also highly resistant to typical marketing hype. They need to see it and feel it for themselves. So we placed the Hyundai Genesis in front of car lovers and collectors at 40 car enthusiast meetings across the country. The events helped build awareness of the Genesis as a legitimate luxury performance sedan at the “grassroots” level.

Consumers
How do you get consumers behind the wheel of your new luxury performance sedan when they don’t commonly think of your brand as offering luxury? Bring it to them. So the 15-market “Discover Genesis” Consumer Ride & Drive Tour was born. Consumers got the opportunity to experience the Genesis themselves–to explore it, drive it and compare it to top competitors. They were invited to “discover their own truth” about the performance and quality of the Genesis–reinforcing that their own experience should be the ultimate measure of excellence.

Interactive kiosks engaged people in hands-on discovery. An interactive media display invited consumers to explore the advantages of the Genesis using a 42-foot vertical LCD screen. Audience members could roll the screen over an image of the Genesis and the corresponding portion of the car would be displayed on the screen with videos and graphics highlighting special Genesis features. A 0-60 acceleration kiosk featured split screen video demonstrating how the Genesis compared to the Porsche Boxster and BMW 7-Series in acceleration. Consumers would activate a Genesis start button and acceleration pedal to begin their virtual 0-60 acceleration test.

Opinion Leaders
To connect with this very influential audience we brought the Genesis to prestigious Concours d’Elegance events across the country. These events are world premier celebrations of the automobile--only elite automobiles are invited to appear each year.

At the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance the Hyundai Genesis sponsored the Club d’Elegance, an environment where VIP guests were able to explore the Genesis. Additionally, a dozen Genesis vehicles shuttled attendees on the one-mile drive between the pavilion and the car display area, providing a dynamic, in-vehicle experience with professional drivers and product specialists.

Additionally, a dozen Genesis vehicles shuttled attendees on the one-mile drive between the pavilion and the car display area, providing a dynamic, in-vehicle experience with professional drivers and product specialists.

Results
So how did this nontraditional campaign perform against the number priority on every marketers list: ROI?

In January, the Genesis was voted Automobile of the Year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Not bad for Hyundai’s first time out with the big boys of luxury and performance.


JACK360° ©2009, Jack Morton Worldwide
For further information about JACK360°: 360@jackmorton.com