• by Tanya Gazdik , October 21, 2021

Hyundai Motor America is launching its first campaign aimed at African American consumers this week.

The automaker selected independent and minority- and female-owned Culture Brands as its first African American marketing agency of record in May.

The multiyear agreement with Culture Brands followed a competitive request for proposal process, per Hyundai.

Themed “Okay Hyundai,” the effort includes two TV spots, "No Stops Necessary" and "Hyundai Homecoming,” as well as digital, radio, social media, influencer programming and branded content with media partners.

The campaign aims to broadens Hyundai’s voice in the marketplace and to make the brand’s marketing more inclusive and representative, says Angela Zepeda, CMO, Hyundai Motor America. 

"We worked with media partners to enhance the creative with custom content and influencer integration, from the African-American community," Zepeda tells Marketing Daily. "We continue to increase our focus and investment in Black-owned and Black targeted media platforms, adding new partners to the plan that we hadn’t previously worked with.

This is Hyundai's largest investment in a targeted African American campaign, she adds.

As important as the cultural insights were to the creative, they were also used as a tool for the media placement, says Erik Thomas, senior group manager, experiential and multicultural marketing, Hyundai Motor America.

The campaign aims to reintroduce Hyundai to the community as “a viable option for new vehicle prospects,” Thomas says in a release. 

Diverse representation was important to the making of the campaign. Culture Brands, along with Brim & Brew, a Black-owned production company, ensured people of color were in front of and behind the camera. 

The spots promote the 2022 Hyundai Tucson Plug-in Hybrid and the 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Plug-in Hybrid.

Insights into the vehicle target were honed through research and real-time polls leveraged through Because of Them We Can.

Creative in "Okay Hyundai” contains cultural references and nuances.

“Okay is defined as a word that is used to express assent, agreement, or acceptance,” said Eunique Jones Gibson, chief executive officer and chief creative officer of Culture Brands, in a release. “In the African American community, placing ‘okay’ before something is the quintessential way things worth noticing are acknowledged. Together, it’s the perfect nod to Hyundai and to our prospective buyers.”