Take the “Project Rising Stars” from Lincoln that's going to be broadcasted during commercial breaks of the 51st Grammy Awards, which air Sunday on CBS. As they announced, viewers should “expect the unexpected” from Lincoln for they will debut the winners from its “Project Rising Stars: Lincoln Video Music Challenge.”
Because they wanted something really special to promote their 2009 MKS, Lincoln and its creative agency, Y&R Team Detroit, created “Project Rising Stars” in collaboration with Gary Calamar – well-known DJ and Grammy-nominated producer and music supervisor. The team chose no less than 10 songs from some of the country’s top emerging music artists and developed a music video-based competition in partnership with Filmaka (an online community for filmmakers and other artists) to create something truly unique.
The pleasant surprise was that they have received more than 300 submissions from writers and directors showing their creative videos featuring the 2009 Lincoln MKS.
“What we’ve learned from research is that the Lincoln MKS is attracting a new group of buyers that are tough to reach with traditional advertising. They’re into technology, film and a wide array of music,” said Thomais Zaremba, Lincoln Mercury Communications Manager. “This opportunity is a great way to create fresh content and put Lincoln in front of a new audience.”
Since many of the ideas were truly extraordinary, Lincoln decided give up the traditional ads and air not one but five 30-second trailers of the top original music videos during the Grammys.
More importantly, “Project Rising Starts” is part of a fresh marketing campaign for the MKS that is meant to show a new way of communicating for Lincoln.
“It is yet another example of Lincoln doing something that no one would expect in a way that no one would expect,” said Zaremba. “We’re very proud of what the MKS is and what it stands for, and we believe that we’re offering a relevant message on an amazing product.”
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