automotive

GMC Digitizes Panthers, Broncos Sponsorship

General Motors’ GMC brand is in either a weird or a great position. Or both. The premium truck and SUV brand is the official vehicle of both the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers. Nice. What GMC is not is the official auto brand of the Super Bowl, which it used to be. And GMC is not advertising in the Super Bowl. Thank you, digital video.

To get some synergy out of the synchronicity, the automaker put Broncos and Panthers players in a 2016 GMC Sierra Denali HD and Yukon Denali, and put that situation online. The effort centers on vignettes where the players use tablets to read fan questions posted to GMC’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

Besides touting the vehicles, the videos give props to GM’s in-vehicle 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, because the players are going online while in the vehicles to answer real-time questions on personal motivation, how they prepare for the game, and their mental game, and superstitions.

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Needless to say the players are on the same team, although it would have been intriguing if GMC had gotten Panthers with Broncos. The videos feature Panthers cornerback Josh Norman and running back Jonathan Stewart in the 2016 GMC Yukon Denali. The Broncos’ videos include defensive end Derek Wolfe and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders filmed in the 2016 GMC Sierra Denali HD.

Says Rich Latek, GMC director of marketing, “We felt we had to do something right with this, something that really interacted with Broncos and Panthers fans.” He tells Marketing Daily that the campaign was developed by GMC's social team, working with football teams to find players who wanted to participate. “We reached out to fans of both teams and asked them what questions they wanted to ask the players.”

He says the idea was to run the digital effort, promoting through social channels, right up to the game to build on excitement. What happens after that depends on what happens in the game. “Who knows. If there are opportunities to continue to do this we would, but right now we are not actively planning that. Our intent was to not to make a big splash, but to make personal relationships. Using Facebook and Twitter, we are also able to connect with Twitter handles of both teams so that really gets us some legs, makes it contextually relevant to those fans; and if you are true fans of the teams, you are already aware of their relationship with GMC.”

In one video, Carolina Panthers’ Jonathan Stewart and Josh Norman talk about whether the Denali has more horsepower than a horse, and whether it turns into a boat. They also talks stats, and whether Cam will run the ball. Denver Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe talks about his will to win, while wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders’ pre-game rituals include a unique snack, strawberries with salt.

As for new products launching this year, the automaker rolled out the Acadia SUV in early January. “We are coming off our best sales year ever, so we will build on that momentum with the Acadia, which is designed at the heart of the mid-size crossover SUV space.”

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