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19/02/2013 by
3908 views

How Mercedes Uses Instagram To Reach Younger Generation

Mercedes-Benz is frantically trying to reach a new, younger audience. First by featuring Kate Upton in their Super Bowl commercial, and now they have finally jumped on the Instagram bandwagon to promote the all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA four-door coupe. And how!

Mercedes-Benz knows they don’t have the biggest chance of reaching their target audience by bringing out TV commercials and print campaigns. Social media is the place to be, to reach that younger generation.

Instagram seemed to be the way to go, and they thought right: 67% of Instagram users is younger than 34 years old.

Of course classic advertising, TV spots and print ads, are being used as well. Watch the Wolf commercial here:

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But the new Instagram campaign, entitled Untamed, is something Mercedes hasn’t done before. The CLA has an “internationally unique aerodynamic design,” and that uniqueness is something the Untamed campaign is all about.

So why Untamed? Well, according to Mercedes this car is all about “breaking free of the constraints of convention to become the leader of the road-going pack.”

It is fast and unique, the car of all cars, meant for unique people who don’t do things by the book all the time.

Nothing can stop you in this CLA, according to Mercedes-Benz’ Head of Brand Communications Anders-Sundt Jensen:

“The CLA will be in a vehicle class of its own. As the little brother of the CLS, it will appeal to target groups who bring a certain non-conformist approach to life. The campaign therefore puts the car in situations that can be summed up as ‘Anything but ordinary’.”

The car is unconventional in its design and price, which is affordable for the younger audience Mercedes is trying to reach.

So how exactly are they using Instagram?
Mercedes came up with the idea of a digital photo installation, inspired by the new CLA. The idea behind this photo installation?

“Countless Instagram photos are created every second. Photos that reflect particular points of view in the life circumstances of different people. Photos that are shared with the entire world. Millions of momentary snapshots. But which motifs are really unique? Mercedes-Benz and the new CLA are looking for Instagram photos with that uniqueness. That are new. Untamed. Photos that can be anything but one thing: average.”


How does it work?

People can connect the #Untamed website with their Instagram feeds, and choose the three most unique and unconventional photos from their stream that relate to the “art of the unique” theme.

The photos will then automatically load onto the website, and users will get to see their personal #Untamed score, compared to the shots that other people have uploaded. Users get the opportunity to break free from the conventional strains and show their creativity.

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The most unique and unconventional photos will make it into a photo installation that will be shown to an international audience in Paris in April, an incentive that will appeal to many creative Instagrammers.

My Opinion?
As an avid Instagram user and lover, I think this campaign is brilliant and original. The idea of a photo installation isn’t new, but the concept behind the campaign appeals to the rebellious young audience Mercedes is trying to reach by using Instagram.

The fact that Mercedes will use the most outstanding photos in a digital photo installation shown live in Paris, which will most definitely attract a big crowd, is a big incentive for Instagrammers to think of something original and fully participate with the theme of this campaign.

It is not all about the car, but what the car represents to Mercedes and its future drivers. It can mean something different for everyone, and Mercedes gives people the chance to show their unconventional creativity in their own way.

It’s not all about pretty pictures, go as crazy as you want. An unhibited way of life, that’s what it’s all about.

What About You?
Do you like Mercedes-Benz’ Instagram campaign? Do you think it will reach a younger audience?

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About the author
Marion aan ‘t Goor is a Social Media Consultant at Share Force One. You can connect with Marion via Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.