As Chevy’s social agency-of-record, Fleishman-Hillard worked to leverage the brand’s presence as a SXSW 2012 super-sponsor via a variety of social channels and integrated tactics that aimed to remain true to brand identity while resonating with a new group of younger, tech-savvy consumers.SXSW was an ideal opportunity for GM to target a younger audience and consequently create a new generation of Chevy owners interested in their new line of models, including the Volt, Cruze, Camaro, Sonic, Corvette and the new Malibu Eco. FH worked with Chevy to develop a strategy centered on the idea of bringing something to the SXSW experience that would not have been present without Chevy, and included the use of both social and experiential tactics to engage attendees with the brand and to “sample" new vehicles. As a result, a fleet of 55 “Catch a Chevy’s" were employed to help attendees move around the eight different SXSW campuses and multiple music venues, while free test drives were offered for a variety of Chevy models. Festival attendees were also given the opportunity to recharge their mobile devices and check-in on Foursquare at the Chevy Volt Recharge Lounge before catching musical performances complete with laser light shows and artist battles from global artists at the Chevy Sound Garage. To extend the campaign’s messaging beyond festival attendees, FH also supported Chevy in the creation of more than 90 pieces of original content focused on the theme “What Drives You," created over the course of 10 days and aimed specifically at bringing the Chevy SXSW experience to those unable to attend. A huge success, the program’s integration of QR codes yielded 1,680,230 impressions from blog posts, tweets and other media content, while Foursquare data from the Chevy Volt Recharge Lounge, which attracted 5,524 festival attendees, reported the second highest number anywhere throughout SXSW’s events with 730 check-ins by 446 people. “Catch a Chevy’s" were also popular, and saw a total of 12,442 pick-ups and 22,328 passengers. The campaign’s social media success was, however, perhaps most impressive, and garnered 61.9 million impressions during the festival as well as 41,000 new Chevy Facebook fans, 2,400 Twitter followers and 514,000 page views via Facebook and Chevy.com/SXSW. Following the festival’s conclusion, GM was also recognized as a SXSW “biggest marketing winner" by AdAge, who noted in particular Chevy and FH’s pairing of new technology with innovative brand positioning to enhance customer experience.
