• Promo, Tuesday, January 11, 2011 10:46 AM

One of Chevrolet's East Coast sales regions is testing a new technology for grassroots efforts. Twenty-four dealers around Washington, D.C., area have been adding the new digital fireworks to their winter and spring lead-generation events that showcase Cruze, Equinox, Malibu, Traverse, Silverado, and Camaro.

The events, which are held inside malls like Potomac Mills, Montgomery Mall, and Dulles Town Center, include both real cars and touch-screen kiosks. Besides letting consumers "build" their own cars, the kiosks also let people use a digital "professional air sprayer." The program lets people "paint" the cars with their fingers, then choose things like rims, tires, decorative stripes.

The car can be spun around for a 360-degree look-see, and people are encouraged to share their car virally with friends through Facebook Connect.

But there's more: consumers can also get a 6" x 9" card with an augmented reality marker on the back. The visitor holds the card up to a camera mounted on a 65-inch TV screen that reads the marker and creates a computer-generated 3-D model of the Chevrolet Camaro sports car. Using the card, people can virtually drive the vehicle on the 3D screen, with Chevy-branded merchandise as instant-rewards.

"This is our prize mechanism, our giveaway tool," said Garrett O'Shea, EVP of RedPeg Marketing, which is handling the program.

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