• by Aaron Baar , June 10, 2014

As a maker of car audio components and electronics, Clarion Corporation of America wants to make sure Americans haven’t lost touch with the car culture they’re so known for. 

To remain connected, Clarion has launched “Clarion Builds,” a real-time marketing program chronicling the restoration of classic cars. Through social and traditional media, the company will highlight every step of a classic car’s restoration.

“We really feel having a connection with car culture is important,” Jubal Leierer, merchandising manager at Clarion, tells Marketing Daily. “As an industry and as a society, we’ve kind of lost that connection.”

The program is launching with a ground-up restoration of a 1974 BMW 2002. In its heyday, BMW sold more than 400,000 examples of the “O2” car, which has become a classic among car enthusiasts and collectors. “It’s an iconic car, and it’s got a major cult following that’s growing as we speak,” Leierer says. 

The project will be chronicled through a new Clarion Builds Web site and through several of Clarion’s social channels, including Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. The brand is also highlighting the project through marketing partners and through an active presence on car enthusiast forums and Web sites. Once the project is done, Clarion will bring the car to classic car shows and other venues. Depending on the success, other classic vehicles will likely follow.

“We should be getting a lot of exposure for the program and the vehicle,” Leierer says. “We hope it will be a successful project. Our first post got a ton of positive feedback from fans and followers on Facebook.”