Earlier this year, Hyundai took some of its hottest new products on a nationwide mall tour to show them off to potential customers. These were standard, high-quality Hyundais, right from the factory with just one small exception. Each included a hidden camera and microphone used to record the unscripted opinions of consumers as they get their first taste of what Hyundai vehicles have to offer. Not only were the drivers impressed, but so was the automaker—which then selected the best of these videos to use in its new “Hyundai Uncensored” marketing campaign. It will be interesting to see which videos will be used. Hyundai Manassas will be waiting to see.
This comprehensive effort, which will include a strong social media component, was designed to provide unbiased, real-world evidence of just how good the Hyundai lineup has become.
The Hyundai Sonata, Santa Fe, Elantra and Accent all will get their time in the spotlight, with automaker’s breakthrough midsize sedan—the Sonata—also playing a more prominent role in the “experiential” facet of the campaign. Here, the automaker will give 125 non-Hyundai owners free use of a Sonata for 30 days, during which their unscripted, unedited reactions will be posted to the automaker’s Youtube channel. Hyundai also will host national ride-and-drive events throughout the U.S., providing a video booth for consumers to use afterward to record their comments and upload them to their Facebook pages.
Hyundai Uncensored should send a powerful message to consumers and help keep the company’s momentum in high gear. Not only did Hyundai set a new record for June sales this year, but it’s also seen overall sales through the first half of 2010 reach a new high-water point as well.
And while consumer opinions won’t be censored for the ads, expect the competition to have plenty of bleep-worthy comments of their own as this new campaign, along with a continuing wave of new Hyundai products, keep setting the pace in today’s auto industry.
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