automotive

Buick Aggregates Feedback On Its Regal

Buick

If you want the world to know what you think about the new Buick Regal, the GM division is happy to oblige. The company has launched a new Web site, MomentOfTruth.com, that serves up real-time social media and blogosphere commentary on its latest car.

The Moment of Truth site sits atop a platform that scours the Web for anything Regal, filters out the dross and naughty verbiage and displays the resulting content on a visually arresting 3D billboard that displays video, tweets, comments, and blogs. Content ranges from consumer opinions and testimonials to automotive reviews and critiques.

Content comes from YouTube videos, Flickr photos, comments from Buick's Regal tab on Facebook, and Twitter, as well as automotive reviews and consumer blogs. The effort extends the integrated campaign for Buick Regal that started earlier this month.

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Janet Keller, digital-social media manager at Buick GMC, says the site and platform, produced by San Francisco-based @ThisMoment with Buick's Internet agency Digitas, is intended as a virtual library of comments people make about the car. "We wanted to harness the real, live reactions of people, whether third-party enthusiasts, or regular consumers -- all perspectives."

Keller explains that anything written in blogs, third-party sites or any other sites about Buick is automatically pulled -- assuming it is relevant and the language is clean. "Think of it as almost like a Google search that pulls in everything that is Buick Regal-related," she says. She adds that feeds are coming from all Twitter accounts (not just Buick's) -- "so anyone's tweet about Buick Regal will automatically be pulled in." She says that Facebook content is pulled in from Buick's Facebook site due to privacy restrictions on the channel.

Buick is promoting the site with a digital ad push and PR efforts. "We are advertising on enthusiast sites, and social networks like LinkedIn. We basically want to reach out to influencers and auto enthusiasts." She says the company is also promoting the site on mainstream culinary, travel and culture sites, with ads mixing Regal launch units with "Moment of Truth" units.

A third leg of the media buy is directed at consumers who are actively in the market for a new car. Keller says Buick is also planning to tag TV spots with the URL to direct people to Buick.com and the Moment of Truth site.

She says that Buick.com gets about three million visits per month. "Right now it's all digital, so it's anything and everything -- and we are also looking at units that have 15-second video components, and we are looking at using full-length videos on video sites that let consumers share content." She says the company will look at what happens and then consider using it on other vehicles. "We are looking at it in terms of lessons learned. So far there has been lots of positive reaction. Our products are appealing to younger buyers."

Buick is also in the midst of holding "Remix" parties featuring Buick vehicles in major markets around the country, including one in Chicago this week.

"If you think about it, it's not all that far removed from [GM's umbrella campaign] 'May the Best Car Win.' We are saying, 'Here we are, test drive us, think about us.' We are confident; we have put a lot of sweat equity into these products," says Keller.

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