Mercedes Adds TV to 'Mixed Tape' Program

Mercedes-Benz is taking its three-year-old online music-download program "Mixed Tape" and mixing in TV.

The global effort is being handled from Mercedes' headquarters in Stuttgart. The company reports that its music-download program has been successful, garnering some 2.5 million users and 28 million downloads since its inception in 2004.

The company says that it is augmenting the music-only program with a TV-like format on the Web. The next iteration of Mixed Tape will be a Web-based music video show at www.mercedes-benz.tv. The company says the monthly program will include 30 minutes worth of video and text called "Mixed Tape Music Magazine," with a different theme monthly.

The format includes album reviews, music videos, and artist profiles for every show. Also included are blogs, interviews, and other text-heavy content. The first of the series airs on Thursday, with a "modern vintage" theme.

"We have a loyal customer base that we target very directly, while our traditional advertising campaigns on TV and in print bring us to the attention of a vast potential market," said Dr. Olaf Gottgens, vice president brand communications at Mercedes-Benz Cars, in a release. "However, in order to reach new, and most importantly, young target groups, we focus part of our marketing activity on new formats. Of these, Mixed Tape and Mercedes-Benz TV have met with the greatest success. By taking Mixed Tape to the next level and integrating it into Mercedes-Benz TV we have created a platform for informative and interactive branded entertainment."

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The modern-vintage show examines how contemporary artists incorporate pop-culture and music trends from the past into their music and videos, and will feature artists like Grammy-award-winner Mark Ronson and Jennifer Lopez as exponents of the trend.

Mercedes says each issue will be accessible online for six months at: www.mercedes-benz.tv/mixedtape. Older audio content from the Mixed Tape series will be available on the Web site, and Mercedes is offering free download of ten tracks every eight weeks.

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