Content Marketing Profile: Hyundai's Re:Generation
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer samuel aboagye
Hyundai has reworked their content marketing strategies to create a deeper connection with the Millenial Generation. Is it working? Hyundai's Re:Generation campaign is a departure from the car maker's traditional content marketing strategies. The focus of the campaign was to support the launch of its new vehicle, the Veloster, but the content marketing tactic was also part of a larger strategy to build a strong connection between the Millennial Generation and the car dealer - and it looks like it is working. A major goal of every marketer is to build a lifelong relationship with young customers. For the auto industry, it is especially important to build a connection with Millennials. Members of this generation are less interested in purchasing cars than prior generations are. Fewer young adults have driver licenses, they hate the car-buying process and they prefer activities that do not require vehicles. This suggests that the pool of interested buyers is shrinking, and companies are going to have to work that much harder to attract Millennials. How do you reach out to a group of individuals who appear to be disinterested in your product, though? Hyundai approached this challenge by engaging Millennials in subject matters in which they are interested. In the case of the Re:Generation campaign, Hyundai is focusing on music. The project paired popular DJs with other music genres. For example, DJ Skrillex worked with the surviving members of The Doors on a new rock compilation, and DJ Premier and Nas worked with the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra to do a new take on classical music. The result of the project was an album that people could download for free. Hyundai also made a movie about the experience, showing the DJs working with the different audiences. Hyundai is also hosting film screenings, producing digital apps and putting on music festivals related to the album. Visit their site here: http://regenerationmusicproject.com/The interesting aspect of the Re:Generation campaign is how much of a departure it is from traditional content marketing. Hyundai is very obviously developing content that potential customers would be interested in seeing; but when a business generates content, it is generally closely related to the product it is trying to sell. The content is meant to educate the customer about the industry in general and the product specifically as a means to build trust with the seller. Re:Generation obviously does not focus on cars. It does not try to educate the public about its fuel economy or the quality of the car's manufacturer. While Hyundai believes that those traits will always be important to the consumer, it also knows that it is not enough. Hyundai believes that those qualities are expected from any car that a Millennial would even consider and are therefore insufficient to make a car stand out from the rest. Hyundai is working to build an emotional connection with Millennials through its content marketing. When all of the elements that would allow you to rationally differentiate between options are assumed to be equal, an emotional appeal is all that remains. Projects like Re:Generation are about cultivating a brand image with which Millennials can identify and literally buy into. The one difficulty with these types of strategies is the difficulty in measuring their success. Because there is not as clear of a connection between the content it is creating and the sales it hopes to obtain, it's hard to measure how much one influences the other. The effectiveness of the campaign can be estimated by how many people access the Re:Generation content and how many more Millennials are purchasing Hyundais. Using those two metrics, Re:Generation has clearly succeeded. As of November 2011, over 1.25 million visitors have accessed Hyundai's content. In addition, Hyundai and its sister company, Kia, have had a 6 percent increase in sales to Millennials over the past five years. Re:Generation shows that content marketing does not have to be purely educational. It can be invaluable for building an emotional connection with people that shift them from being one-time buyers to lifetime customers. Sources: Teresa Iezzi, AUTO TUNE: HYUNDAI UNITES SKRILLEX AND THE DOORS TO MAKE NEW MUSIC, Fast Company Brad Tuttle, The Great Debate: Do Millennials Really Want Cars, or Not? Time Branding Magazine, HYUNDAI RE:GENERATION Socialmediatoday, What is Content Marketing? 11 Definitions Phillip LeBeau, Young Car Buyers Coming Back, Picking Korean Brands, CNBC Picture site: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hyundai_Concept_Red_2.jpeg
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