• by Tanya Gazdik , October 7, 2019

For the national launch of the Audi Q3 SUV, the automaker tapped millennial’s social feeds with highly visual social content and custom murals.

Audi worked with designers and animators to create what they described as "thumb-stopping social content" for @Audi Instagram. Told in an ongoing series of 3-second short films, “Q3 in 03” features different artistic styles (from collage to typographic renders) to show off the many sides of the all-new Q3. 

The content was created in partnership with a 17-person cast from the Gentlemen Scholar. Over 25 videos are rolling out over three weeks.

Offline in Nashville, Audi collaborated with DC-based artists Peter Chang and Brandon Hill of the creative shop No Kings Collective to create custom murals. Audi also hosted a curated drive in Music City that allowed guests to meet young entrepreneurs and creators. No Kings Collective created a one-of-a-kind wrapping for the Q3 that was on display for guests to see.

The campaign has given sales a boost, with the Q3 experiencing a significant 78% year-over-year growth. 

Audi has long emphasized its Instagram presence and has 15 million followers, says  Loren Angelo, vice president, marketing, at Audi of America.

“We view Instagram as the modern car magazine that goes beyond just car photos, but rather is a more artistic medium of self-expression and modern brand tonality. Instead of ripping out photos and hanging on the wall, our fans screenshot Instagram posts and use them as their phone backgrounds,” Angelo tells Marketing Daily.

“Our fans and consumers enjoy seeing our models in nontraditional backgrounds, and Instagram allows us that flexibility to be creative.”

Given the younger demographic for the Audi Q3, the task was to bring the millennial audience content that felt native to how they are consuming social, he says.

The campaign “was born out of that strategy, leveraging images and videos that seamlessly fit within the target’s social feed,” he adds.

“Audi fans love to see interiors and the MMI [Audi’s infotainment system],” Angelo says. “This post specifically has nearly doubled our key performance indicators we set for this campaign, showing that the dynamic animation is resonating with the audience.”

Beyond the digital components of the campaign, Audi also partnered with the James Beard Foundation to host a four-city pop-up culinary experience featuring chefs and graduates of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program. 

More Instagram activations are planned, Angelo says.

“We recently used Instagram to tease the arrival of the highly-anticipated RS 6 Avant coming to the U.S.,” he says. "The unveiling of the 2020 RS 6 Avant is now Audi’s most commented-on Instagram post to date.”