• by Karl Greenberg , March 5, 2007

Chrysler Group's Dodge division is pulling out the stops in a huge effort to promote its new mid-sized sedan, Avenger. The campaign started with a 30-second spot on Saturday during NHL hockey on NBC and includes new print ads, a second TV spot, gaming integration, events, promotions and sweepstakes, as well as a parallel multicultural effort.

The campaign targets men who are "masculine performers"; women and men into socializing, digital connectivity and music; and style-oriented women. Mark Spencer, senior manager for Dodge communications, says the campaign will have an "Engineered to Exhilarate" theme. Much of the media exposure and promotional activity will be around sports: on NBA broadcasts on ABC and TNT; on NHL games on NBC and Versus; and on Nascar broadcasts on Fox, as well as at races.

As part of the Nascar focus, Dodge will be the exclusive automotive sponsor of a satellite TV program called Nascar Hotpass, with Avenger ads running in rotation, augmented with banner ads on Nascar sites, and eNewsletters sent to half a million subscribers. The company says it will augment the Nascar push with a promotion with Nascar driver Juan Montoya (who races in a Dodge Charger) that will center on a Web-based Q&A game, "42 Days of Racing," starting mid-June. A grand prize winner gets an Avenger.

"People go into [this area of the sedan market] because they are looking for a high-quality, more practical vehicle. At the same time they are looking for emotional satisfaction," says Spencer. While he conceded that the median demo for the segment is 50s, urban, college educated, mostly married and tending "a bit more female" with an income in the $60,000 range, Dodge hopes to cast a wide net by reaching, at least ostensibly, a 30-something buyer.

"When you look at Camry and Accord, both selling in big volumes to a higher median age, we are trying to find our place where Dodge DNA does best: youthful, sporty and performance-oriented. We will probably attract more men than women, somewhat more affluent given their younger age, and also metro and suburban," he said. "They are looking for youthful styles, sporty vehicles, with matching performance attributes. But they also seek substance; details matter."

Efforts to target both men and women include putting the car at a raft of urban fashion, style and culture events. Dodge will be presenting sponsor of In Style magazine's "Movies at the Rock," Self magazine's "Rock Bodies," and Elle magazine's "Fantasy Fashion League Draft Party." Branded events such as Hot Import Nights (in Chicago, Boston, and Washington, D.C.) and Taste of Chicago and Taste of Dallas will also showcase the all-new Dodge Avenger throughout the calendar year.

Spencer said that within the 2 million-unit-per-year, mid-sedan market, the competitive target is Mazda and Nissan Altima, and that the three main "why buys" for the car will be innovative technology, vehicle handling, and performance and styling.

Ads will tout features like the on-board "MyGig" digital hard drive that can save up to 1,600 songs; UConnect in-vehicle, hands-free communications system and heating/cooling cup holders. There will be two general market print ads to run this month across a swath of men's and women's sports, fashion, lifestyle, health and diversity pubs that will promote the car as a digital-friendly vehicle.

In a TV spot breaking this month, a man presses a button to warm his hot drink in the cup holder. Above him, a fighter pilot radios to his co-pilot, "Commence heat-seeking missile test." A missile launches from the jet and begins chasing the Dodge Avenger. The driver is unaware that the missile is in hot pursuit because he's too busy enjoying his drive across winding roads. Finally, he turns off the heated cup holder, and the heat-seeking missile flies past him. The ad closes with a voice-over: "Did we mention it cools also? The all-new Dodge Avenger."

Other young-skewing media buys and product insertions include a new microsite at Dodge.com, which will run rich media, video, etc. Dodge will run online ads on SI.com, MSN, Fox Sports, ESPN and Yahoo Sports, The Onion and askmen.com. And for women, elle.com, Fandango, AOL Instant Messenger, Evite and Batanga will be leveraged to engage the consumer through social connectivity.

Dodge Avenger also gets placement in a video game, Tom Clancy's "Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter." Dodge and game maker Ubisoft will promote in retail, print, online and TV spots. As in the Nascar promo, players can compete online via the game for the car.

Spend for the effort was not divulged, but Spencer said prime-time TV will constitute about 53% of exposure, with 20% of the remainder interactive, 18% in-cinema and print and the remainder radio and outdoor.

Four TV spots will air on such "appointment viewing" prime-time shows as "Desperate Housewives," "The Nine," "Brothers and Sisters," "Boston Legal" and "24." The Hispanic and African-American vector includes ads on "Girlfriends," "The Game," "Everybody Hates Chris," "BET Awards," and on Hispanic network shows like "Primer Impacto," "Despierta America," and the Billboard Latin Music Awards, according to a company release.

Spencer said a message on fuel efficiency would be taken online. "We will include messaging ... that Avenger gets 30 miles per gallon highway; that's going to be a big piece of Web communications. We will also put that message into print and TV selectively."