• by Aaron Baar , October 21, 2011

Little Red Corvette. Taking the Chevy to the levy. Getting kicks on Route 66. Taking advantage of the inextricable link between cars and music, Cars.com is setting up three custom music channels on music-streaming Web site Pandora.

“We want to provide a great consumer experience and align with that opportunity through integrated branded environments across devices,” Lynda Myszkowski, senior manager, online marketing, tells Marketing Daily. “This approach has been successful in increasing brand awareness for Cars.com.”

For this campaign, Cars.com and Pandora have created three stations: Road Trip, Car Songs and Tailgate. Each station is intended to focus on different experiences people have involving their cars, Myszkowski says. Pandora selected the songs based on its information and research. For two of the stations (Tailgate and Road Trip), Pandora’s algorithm will grow the set list as the user listens.

Myszkowski expects people to listen to the stations on their computers, tablets, smartphones and, increasingly, in their cars. According to recent findings from the NPD Group, streaming Internet sites are becoming a more widely accepted practice for drivers.

“A tipping point is approaching when vehicles and portable devices move from a tethered connection to a more integrated one,” said Russ Crupnick, senior vice president and entertainment analyst for The NPD Group, in a release. “Smart devices streaming music could end up being the largest threat to CDs and broadcast radio since the dawn of digital music.”

Through the program, Cars.com will promote itself through advertisements (audio, video and banner) on its branded stations as well as throughout the Pandora experience, Myszkowski says. To continue promotion of the stations, users can share them through Facebook, Twitter and other channels, and they will be promoted through Cars.com’s blog, KickingTires, its Facebook page and other media outreach efforts.