Mazda North American Operations will aim for gamers on the rollout of its 2014 Mazda 3.
The compact hatchback’s debut was broadcasted globally on Xbox Live, Microsoft Corp.’s online gaming platform, which has more than 46 million young users—including many potential car buyers between the ages of 18 and 34, according to the company.
“It’s a digitally connected world, so what better way to reach our customers than through a connected platform like Xbox,” Russell Wager, the Irvine-based carmaker’s vice president of marketing, said in a news release.
The presentation of the fuel-efficient model was held in New York and featured a live concert by indie rock band Metric—another lure for the young audience.
“Metric’s fans are spread throughout the globe, so there is something quite special about being able to offer a select few fans the opportunity to attend such a unique and intimate Metric concert in person while the rest of the band’s fans around the world participate virtually through a social streaming event on one of the world’s largest interactive global entertainment platforms,” said Metric’s manager, Mathieu Drouin.
Mazda orchestrated the hype surrounding the debut through its social media outlets, which urged fans to interact using the hashtag #GameChanger, the name of the brand’s latest advertising campaign, which began in April.
The carmaker’s website featured a countdown clock and directed viewers to a dedicated Mazda landing page on Xbox.com in the week leading up to the June 26 reveal.
The site also hosted sweepstakes offering a chance to win a $2,500 trip to a music event or a 12-month Xbox Music Pass.
Viewers of the broadcast received a #GameChanger T-shirt for their avatar—a graphical representation of the user in a game—the first giveaway of its kind at a live event, according to Mazda.
The event coincided with the 10-year anniversary of the Mazda 3 model.
Vans Ad
Vans Inc.’s customers have yet another way to interact with the brand.
The Cypress-based apparel manufacturer collaborated with advertising agency Rooster Worldwide of New York and Yarn, Microsoft’s internal creative team, to develop an in-app ad featured on Skype.
The ad appears as a banner on Skype’s home screen, inviting users to design a virtual skateboard park while on a video call with a friend. Once complete, they can watch a pro skateboarder ride the park and perform the tricks of their choice.
Each skate park also becomes a landing page for Vans to merchandise its latest shoes, according to Stephen Kim, vice president of global accounts and agencies for Microsoft, which purchased Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion.
Consumers can share a video clip of their creations with their Skype contacts or post them on their social networks, further expanding brand interaction. The video footage Rooster used to create the ad was shot in the House of Vans, the company’s indoor skate park in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Kim and his colleague, Jennifer Creegan, general manager of display advertising at Microsoft, presented the interactive ad last month at the Cannes Lions International Festival in France during a rollout of Ad Pano. Ad Pano is Microsoft’s new advertising software, which runs across Windows 8, various apps, Bing, Xbox and Skype.
Four similar ads developed for clothing brand All Saints, Mercedes-Benz USA, MasterCard and Dell were also shown.
“[Ad Pano] is really about creating a magazine section inside an app,” Creegan said during an in-house interview from Cannes for Microsoft’s advertising channel on YouTube.
Creegan was referring to an Ad Pano feature that lets users horizontally scroll an ad banner and opt to interact with the brand, such as build a skate park in a Vans ad or purchase clothes worn by models in All Saints’ ad.
“[We are] taking advantage of all amazing devices and all consumer patterns happening out there,” she said, “to build experiences that mean something to consumers and therefore are better for marketers from an effectiveness standpoint.”
Bits and Pieces
Orange Label Art & Advertising of Newport Beach advanced Kelsey Phillips to junior integrated advertising executive and welcomed Michelle Regrut to Phillips’ former position as integrated advertising coordinator. … Irvine-based Bolt PR signed on veteran public relations specialist Joanne Forster as its general manager and public relations director.
