Audi is rolling out a wide range of promotions to leverage its sponsorship of Marvel’s new movie Iron Man 3.
A fleet of Audi models features in the film: most notably billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Iron Man) played by Robert Downey Jr drives the all electric Audi R8 e-tron prototype, while is assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) drives an Audi S7.
But these days, in-film product placement alone is simply not enough when it comes to maximising a major Hollywood movie partnership
So the alliance, which was brokered by Disneymedia+, is truly multi-faceted.
Audi is the official première partner and is driving the R8 e-tron down red carpets around the world,
while the car brand is simultaneously rolling out an Iron Man TV campaign to promote its partnership with the Disney/Marvel movie (complete with the tagline ‘Audi: Engineered for Iron Man’).
Audi ‘Making Of’ online films
Its CRM activity sees it offer Audi customers the chance to attend previews
In the UK Audi is blending its film tie-in with its football partnership with Chelsea FC and is hosting several Iron man events at the club’s Stamford Bridge, while Iron Man 3 branding is also wrapping around Audi driving events (with pit crews at Brands Hatch dressed as Iron Man himself).
But perhaps the most interesting co-promotion between Marvel and Audi is a creative crowdsourcing cartoon initiative called ‘Steer The Story’
An online comic book thread that enables consumers to tweak the narrative, drive the plot and draw the story.
In short, to become co-creators of a Marvel Iron Man digital comic book.
This element of the movie partnership, which sees social media play a major role, consists of two major phases.
The first enables fans of the franchise (and of the car brand) to be part of the story and choose the narrative direction of the plot by casting a vote through social media sharing.
The second phase, gives consumers the opportunity to draw frames, finish the story and illustrate the eventual fate of Iron Man.
To assist fans with their cartoon drawings skills, Audi has also launched a set of instructional videos with tips on drawing Iron Man and the Audi R8.
For example, ‘Learn How To Draw Iron Man’s Helmet’
or ‘Learn How To Draw An Audi A8’
It encourages creative consumers to draw a comic strip ending on paper and then take a photo of it, or get friends to dress in costumes and act out an ending while you shoot it on video.
Whichever artistic style a consumer chooses, the finished work is simply submitted it to the campaign site: making each entrant a co-creator of the story and getting a credit as such.
The entries will be judged by Marvel and the winner’s work will be used to end the story.
Then the completed consumer-created comic book will then be mae available for download, and everyone who submits a version of the ending will get a credit as a “co-creator.”
Comment
The German premium car brand partnered with both the first and second Iron Man movies and versions of the R8 featured in both. It seems like there is some validity and synergy to the fit.
‘Stark and his passion for innovative technology, his sophisticated wit and his character overall are great representatives for our brand,’ says Drew Elliott, a social-media specialist for Audi of America.
‘The Audi R8 is the perfect car for Iron Man super hero and ingenious inventor, Tony Stark,’ says Florian Zitzlsperger, head of brand partnerships at Audi AG. ‘His drive for innovation represents the constant quest for progress, which is a hallmark of the VorsprungdurchTechnik philosophy.’
But perhaps this campaign shows we have reached a tipping point where the on-celluloid placement is just the spark, rather than the main driver of a movie partnership.
With brands always looking for forms of interaction and engagement that cuts through the cyber clutter and digital noise, this kind of crowd sourced initiative – which spans incentivisation, education and sharing (not to mention further boosts awareness of and builds excitement around the main movie event) has its benefits.
It keeps audiences engaged around the core platform and offers a route to ensure they are part of the story.
Links
SteerTheStory Website
to http://www.steerthestory.com
TV Commercial YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RJRA5T0nIf8
Marvel Website
Audi Website
