Chevrolet Creates App for Super Bowl

January 2012

Chevrolet introduces The Chevy Game Time app, leveraging the mobile space where many viewers existed during last year’s Super Bowl. The app will quiz users with trivia and poll questions on the Super Bowl game, teams and commercials. Correct answers will enter users into a drawing for thousands of prizes from Chevrolet, Bridgestone, Motorola, Papa John’s and more. Users are also assigned a “license plate” number upon download of the app. Consumers’ license plate numbers matching license plates in Chevy’s commercials will win a Chevy’s vehicle. For more information, please see AdAge.

Lexus Makes Payments Easier Via Mobile

January, 2012

Lexus is making vehicle payments easier with the addition of an iOS mobile payment application called myLFS. Within the application, Lexus owners can pay their bills, view special offers from the company and also reach company contacts for inquiries regarding their statements. For added security, owners must submit a number of responses to inquiries before the will be registered for the app. To learn more about how Lexus is making the brand experience more simplistic, please visit LuxuryDaily.com.

Chevy Will Choose Viral Video For SuperBowl Ad

December, 2011

Chevrolet has announced that it will choose it’s 2012 Superbowl ad based on which of its viral videos gets shared the most.  The current selection of videos is comprised of 38 viral videos crowdsourced from fans.  Fans submitted videos centered on the theme “everyday heros” for consideration earlier this year and the list was paired down to the final 38 for voting.  Fans are encouraged to share their favorite video in order to increase it’s chance of being selected as the official Chevrolet Super Bowl ad. The user who shares the most videos and answers the question “If you could drive to any destination in your home country, where would you go?” will be awarded up to $10,000 in prizes.  For more information, see Mashable.

Lexus makes December one to Remember

December 2011,

Lexus has decided to give back this holiday season by launching a Facebook campaign that donates to Toy for Tots. Lexus “Bows for Charity” encourages fans to “Like” their Facebook page and share a bow. In doing so, Lexus will donate $5 to Toys for Tots, up to $100,000. For more information, please visit Lexus Facebook.

Harley Davidson Solicits Feedback on Facebook

November, 2011

Harley Davidson is reaching out to fans to tell the company what they think through a new Facebook application. Through the “Fan Machine”, users can submit ideas that they want to see come to life, which other users can in turn vote for. Fan Machine stated (on the Harley Davidson Facebook page), “By giving fans an easy way to contribute ideas and vote on submissions from other fans, ‘Fan Machine’ facilitates real co-creation with the brands they love, while giving them a chance at prizes and a seat at the creative table.” The brand has currently seen an increase in Likes and continued growth. To learn more about this new promotion, please visit InsideFacebook.com.

BMW Promotes Customization Via iPad App

September, 2011

To drive users to customize their BMW cars, the car company has create an application for the iPad with features users can customize. The application is set up like a book, with users flipping pages to learn more about features that can be customized. Users can interact with the app by touching, sliding and tapping the pages (for example, if a user slides their finger across the leather category, the interior goes from black to tan). “The user experience is well-thought-out and they really take you on a journey,” said Laura Woolston, marketing manager at Velti Mobclix Exchange, San Fransisco. “As soon as you open the app, you are greeted with a sleek welcome video to create excitement. To learn more, please visit LuxuryDaily.com.

Ford and Zipcar Target College Students

September, 2011

Ford has signed a two year agreement saying that it will be the official car of Zipcar U. The by-the-hour car rental company targeting college campuses plans to attract Millennials by using social media and mobile tactics. For example Ford’s Facebook page will have a special tab for the Zipcar network which will include videos, tutorials and a photo contest. Students will also be able to rent a car using their smart phone. For more information, please see Zipcar U.

AT&T Develops “DriveMode” App

August, 2011

In order to prevent texting while driving, AT&T has developed an application for mobile users. The application will send a customized “automated response” for incoming text messages that let’s the senders know the user is driving. The app also has the ability to prevent incoming emails and calls so the driving experience is uninterrupted. The application is part of the “It Can Wait” campaign by the company. To learn more, visit YouTube.com.

New Toyota Steering Wheel Tracks Heart Rate

July, 2011

New technology from Toyota can detect irregular heart and body functions through the steering wheel. With the implementation of an ECG (electrocardiogram) the wheel can sense if the driver has arrhythmia, or even if they are enduring a heart attack. Abnormal heart rates are detected through the drivers hands with the help of contact sensors embedded in the steering wheel. This read of information is also shown on an in car navigation screen, allowing drivers to nonchallantly check their heart rate. If the driver is having heart attack, they are instructed to pull over immediately and the car itself will automatically call 911. Toyota hopes that this new health-related technology will help save many lives. For more information, please see Fast Company.

Harley-Davidson App Details Scenic Routes

May, 2011

Harley-Davidson motorcycle company has developed a mobile application to provide riders with scenic routes to test their bikes on. Users of the application can find local routes to travel by searching city and/or state. In addition to providing local maps, the app shows the location of local dealerships, as well as Best Western hotels, where owners can get discounted rates.

Toyota Launches Private Network for Owners

May, 2011

Toyota Friend is the new private social network for Toyota owners.  The network, created in partnership with Salesforce.com, helps connect owners with dealers, cars and the Toyota brand.  Although Toyota Friend is a private network, customers will be able to link to public networks like Facebook and Twitter.  To read the full article, please visit mashable.com.

Chrysler Donates Books Via FB Campaign

May, 2011

Chrysler’s Town & Country Minivan is helping eliminate illiteracy through the Facebook campaign, “Road to Literacy”. Users who want to donate must visit the brand’s Facebook page, click the Donate Now tab, choose a local school to donate to, then visit a local dealership to test drive a minivan. After the test drive, the user will be given a special code to re-enter on Facebook. From there, five books will be sent to the school of choice, and five books will be donated to a school in need. Chrysler will donate 150,000 books in total at the end of the campaign. To learn more about this campaign, visit PRNewswire.com.

Peugeot Geo-Targets Consumers On-The-Go

April, 2011

Peugeot rolled out a new campaign that geo-targets consumers passing by a nearby dealership. As the users pass by, an ad pops up on their phone asking them to visit a local Peugeot dealership for special offers on leases. The ads also include buttons that provide the nearest dealership location.

Toyota Prius on EA Facebook Monopoly Game

April, 2011

Toyota and EA have formed a 12 month partnership to feature the Toyota Prius on Monopoly Millionaires. Monopoly Millionaires by EA is the online social version of the classic boardgame and is housed on Facebook.  The Prius will be featured as one of the moving pieces on the board and will also be included when a user purchased the “Eco-Greenhouse” in the game.  Users will also be able to gift the Prius and Eco-Greenhouse to friends or other players.  Toyota’s move into the gaming world follows the increasingly popular trend of real world brands making products available as goods in the virtual gaming world.  For more information see Mashable.

“Uber” App Commands Valet Cars Via Mobile

April, 2011

Uber, a new app for mobile phones, can request luxury car service for consumers in a matter of seconds. Consumers must first register their information and a credit card number before car service can be arranged. Once users select a car, they will receive a text confirmation with their order and can view a map which shows the car’s exact location. To learn more about this new app service, visit UrbanDaddy.com.

State Farm “Shotgun” Promo On Facebook

March 2011

State Farm is launching a Facebook promotion starting March 31st. For the following ten days, State Farm will post a photo/announcement five times a day. This “Shotgun” promotion is unique in that it not only gets people to “like” the page, but also to visit the page frequently. Consumers become eligible to win a Ford Fusion hybrid when they “like” the page, but in order to be entered in the sweepstakes, consumers must be one of the first people to tag themselves in a photo. The first people to tag each photo, thus calling shotgun, will be entered to win the Ford; people tagging themselves later on will be entered for lesser prizes. The “shotgun” game is being promoted via twitter and virally on sweepstakes sites.

Test Driving iPhone App

March, 2011

Volkswagen recently released an iPhone app to augment reality; with their phones, users “test drive” Volkswagen’s latest models on print ads.  The ads have been run in Norwegian publications and there is also a digital version online.  The application is free and offers options such as adaptive control and lane assist.

Prius Projects’ Real Time Marketing

March 2011

Toyota is launching two 10-hour Prius Records webcasts on March 30th and 31st at ToyotaPriusProjects.com. Prius is attempting to set 200 records, all of them whimsical records, such as “Most Shadow Animals Made With Prius LED Headlights in 2 Minutes.” This matches the tone of their last social media campaign, “What is the Plural of Prius,” which attempted to get people to debate this question on Facebook and Twitter. The idea to include the Prius brand in talk around a created event is a tactic being used by many right now including brands such as Coca Cola (composing a song with Maroon 5 in 1 day) and Mitsubishi (breaking 5 Guinness World Records in 1 day).

Lincoln, SCVNGR Gives Away iPad 2 at SXSW

March, 2011

South by Southwest attendees joined Lincoln MKX automobiles in a game with social site, SCVNGR, for a chance to win the hottest item of the week: A new iPad2. The interaction kicked off with a snap tag and sign in on an iPad. “The Lincoln Intelligence Project” directed gamers to complete 5 challenges on their smart phone, which each tied back to a product attribute of the new car. The auto-maker also co-sponsored a lounge next door with Fast Company Magazine, where the SXSW-weary could get complimentary refreshments, when registered online.

Whrrl Develops SXSW Audi App

March, 2011

Geo-Based Social Network, Whrrl, wooed techhies at Austin’s South by Southwest with the promise of a pair of Audis. To participate, consumers had to download the app using snap tags, designated for their mobile device. Then once the app was loaded and a user account was created, the attendant gave the consumer a code on a keychain to check in on Whirrl. Throughout the 5-day interactive portion of SXSW, consumers can check in at multiple locations for more chances to win. Postcards at the booth directed consumers to those locations around the festival.

BMW Moving Forward with App Fund

March, 2011

With the recent launch of the i-Series, BMW has also announced a $100 million capital fund for investment in mobile services called, iVentures. The first app the luxury car company invested in was My City Way, an app that provides users local parking, restaurants, entertainment and transit. As a company that has long shown focus on the driving experience, this new venture shows companies’ significant need to keep consumers connected no matter where they are.

Toyota’s Legends and Icons Pandora Campaign

March, 2011 Toyota has signed a multi-year deal with Pandora, the popular internet radio site for its “Legends and Icons” campaign.  The promotion is the largest yet to run across all of Pandora’s platforms, and connects Toyota’s vehicles to certain music genres and artists.  “We wanted to create a unique space where we provide consumers with valuable custom content all while establishing positive brand awareness,” said Kim Kyaw, senior media strategist for Toyota.  For the entire articles, follow this link <http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/9288.html>

Chevrolet’s MLK Reading Day Project

January, 2011

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Chevrolet’s social media agency created the MLK Reading Day Project.  The project, which can be found at www.chevymlk.com, asks fans to record videos of themselves reading some of King’s quotes and share them with friends.  The project also promotes the The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial, which will open on August 28, 2011 in Washington, D.C.

Mercedes “Tweet Race to the Big Game”

January, 2011

Mercedes-Benz recently launched a Twitter campaign to drive celebrity race teams to the 2011 Super Bowl. Teams are comprised of celebrity and non-celebrity drivers, and celebrity coaches. Once the race has begun, the teams try to gain as much Twitter activity as possible as they drive from their starting locations to Dallas. Coaches will help encourage Twitter participation and charity donations throughout the campaign. The winning team, or the team with the most Twitter activity during the race time, will win two 2012 Mercedes C-Class Coupes.

Toyota Develops Entune

January, 2011

Toyota has developed a new mobile app platform called Entune that will be featured in new vehicles. The multimedia system will house apps such as navigation, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Movietickets.com, OpenTable, and more. The system will work in tandem with mobile phones. “With this new strategy we’re able to provide a much more robust experience, Entune introduces apps such as Pandora and iheartradio, which all have unique features compared to our existing platforms, which all blend together seamlessly. We bring in location information using Bing, and most of our Toyota customers go to movies and eat out, so MovieTickets.com and OpenTable will also be initial launch applications with Entune,” said Jim Pisz of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc.

Nissan Joins Brands Leveraging SCVNGR

January, 2011

Nissan has joined many leading-name brands in leveraging SCVNGR for mobile promotions. The car company is currently promoting their “Juke the City” campaign, where users log in to SCVNGR to find and compete in challenges. Reward for competition is entrance into a drawing to win the new Nissan Juke. Currently, the brand is focusing their target on Generation Y consumers, and have hopes that the mobile campaign will reach the right consumer.

Kia Uses Mobile Mapping To Promote Optima

December, 2010

Kia is driving awareness of its newest Optima model via a mobile mapping tool. The tool shares locations of Kia dealerships, restaurants and gas stations near the user’s location. In addition to the tool, users can use the “Tap Tap Choice” game to share their location with friends. Pamela Muñoz, assistant manager of public relations at Kia Motors, Seoul, South Korea said, “The Optimap application was branded with Optima, Kia’s latest sedan, and introduces our incorporated approach to the Kia technology experience both off- and online. Kia Optima is geared towards working professionals in their 30s and early 40s.” Please visit MobileMarketer.com for video ads from the campaign.

Toyota Pays $500 For New Purchase Tweets

December, 2010

Toyota is offering Twitter users a $500 debit card for tweeting about their Toyota vehicle purchase. Twitter users must tweet through the Toyota Shareathon microsite the following message, “If I get my new Toyota during Toyotathon they’ll give me $500 just for this Tweet. http://buyatoyota.com @Toyota #shareathon.” “We wanted to leverage social media to build incremental awareness of our annual Toyotathon sales event. We feel that $500 is a significant enough offer to stimulate consumer interest and generate strong buzz throughout the social space,” said Kimberley Gardiner, Toyota’s national digital marketing and social media manager. To read more about this promotion, visit Mashable.com.

GMC Increases Purchase Intent Via Mobile Search

November, 2010

GMC reported a 44-percent increase in their consumer purchase intent from mobile search efforts. By sponsoring an MSNBC mobile application, the brand hoped to increase their consumer awareness and purchase intent. The banner ads shown on the app were reviewed by 1 million users. For more information, visit MobileMarketer.com.

Mazda Gives Away Car On Foursquare

November 2010,

Mazda partners with Foursquare to give one lucky person a brand new Mazda 2. Interested participants simply log on and follow “Mazda” and check in to relevant locations to unlock two of the following three badges, MAZDA 2 Beat Junkie (concerts and music spots), MAZDA 2 Style Guru (nightlife haunts, boutiques and fashion events) and MAZDA 2 Button Masher (gaming competitions and retailers). Once two of the three badges become unlocked, participants will immediately unlock the MAZDA 2 Inner Driver badge and be eligible to win a MAZDA 2.