Since 2005, Audi has been trying to position itself as a top
tier brand in the automotive industry. For years Audi was just that German
automaker little brother following behind its older siblings. Audi brought its product
to American shores but has not enjoyed the sales number that it wishes to
achieve. Neither television marketing nor print ads did the trick. They needed
a marketing medium that grabs the audience’s attention and at the same time
puts its products in a category of extreme opulence and desirability. Only one
medium allows the marketing and the money making to be done at the same time
and that is film industry.
The first time I really noticed Audi cars was when it was
put on screen in front of me as a main character in 2005’s Transporter 2. I
mean it was like a 2-hour car commercial for the Audi A8, but man was it cool.
The first film featured the protagonist (The Driver) driving a BMW 735i, at the
time, which was the top of the line the company offered. It was a beauty of
form and function and was the main purpose for the film. Audi realized this and
lobbied to have their film featured in the sequel. It was marketing genius, but
didn’t really get the exposure they wanted because that movie turned out to be
a bomb. A third Transporter was made which featured the updated version of the
A8. http://goo.gl/mXBnbo
It wasn’t until 2008 when Marvel was ramping up their comic
book movie onslaught/takeover where Audi saw their big chance to really
solidify them with the audience they wanted to capture. With the release of
Iron Man, Audi entered them in to a deal that would push them to the top to the
sociocultural climate. Tony Stark, the man in the iron suit, was an extremely
wealthy inventor who created the armor to fight against evil villains.
Coincidentally they had just put on the market one of the most affordable,
attractive super cars on the planet the Audi R8 roadster. In one fell swoop
Audi captured two of the most attractive incentives for their brand. The upper
class clientele and the action oriented buyer looking for thrills. They hit a
home run and helped promote themselves as well as the film. Since then both
have been doing extremely well. The partnership continued and in every movie
Tony Stark featured in going forward he was always seen driving an Audi in
one-way shape or form.
Audi has positioned itself next to other famous big screen
outings in recent years also, such as the Star Trek and most recently X-Men’s
Wolverine. In Wolverine, Audi served the same purpose it did for Marvel’s other
hero Iron Man, in which they showed that not only is a car for the
sophisticated but also the action oriented.For Star Trek they knew they couldn’t feature their cars on
screen since the film takes place in space they had to alter their approach and
go after the lore of one of the franchises most beloved characters, Spock. Audi
intelligently used this tactic to also address another one of their other
issues which was old v new luxury (BMW and Mercedes being the old), they did
this by pitting the old Spock Leonard Nimoy v new Spock Zachary Quinto in a
battle of wits, which the character is known for being highly logical.http://goo.gl/YIHLWR
The Audi group just doesn’t stop there; they often finance the
cost of the events that showcase it cars. According to leading Hollywood event
planners they spend about $3 Million a year on sponsorships for various festivals
and galas. They have spent $150,000 for the AFI Film Fest, $75,000 on BAFTA tea
events during Globe and Emmy weekends, $200,000 for John's Oscar party and
about $25,000 for a Geffen Playhouse season sponsorship, to name a few. Audi is
now looking like the film industry’s market leader, a market that used to be
dominated by the likes of Ford, Chevy, BMW, and Mercedes. With Audi looking the
invest $17 Billion to update their vehicle line up, it looks likes an amazing
beginning for wanting to be the world luxury leader by 2020.
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