Unite Digital Launches New Regional Marketing Platform with Mitsubishi Motors Direct-to-Dealer Advertising Campaign for 2022 Outlander

Tier III Program Leverages Mitsubishi Motors’ Buying Power Directly for Dealers

Features AC/DC’s hit song Thunderstruck, captivating consumers with its iconic strains combined with fast-paced creative execution

Unite Digital, LLC, a digital marketing company that focuses on OEM-certified dealer digital programs, lead optimization, retail integration and loyalty strategies, announced the launch of a new regional marketing platform for the all-new 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander that enables Tier I creative, featuring AC/DC’s hit song, Thunderstruck, to be customized with dealership branding and offers

“Mitsubishi is leading the way as a disruptor in this space by creating a connected customer experience that combines the marketing power of the OEM with the distribution strength of the local dealer,” said Stacey Coopes, Founder and CEO of Unite Digital. “Most OEMs do not provide customized broadcast assets for dealers to use in their local markets. For years, OEMs have aggregated budgets for regional advertising but sent the traffic to separately branded Tier II websites. As a result, many customers abandon the brand, confused by a disjointed shopping experience.”

“Mitsubishi may be a small auto manufacturer, but we have big products hitting the market right now. When customers see the best-in-class features and capabilities of our vehicles, they are wowed,” said Mark Chaffin, Chief Operating Officer, Mitsubishi Motors North America. “We have the product, and now Unite Digital is helping us build our brand with breakthrough ideas that cut through the clutter, helping consumers connect with our dealers directly.”

A pilot for the new regional marketing platform that ran in the spring for the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, featuring Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out, yielded a 50 percent increase in lead volumes among participating dealers.

“The Eclipse Cross campaign was a real hit, and Mitsubishi has done a great job communicating with the dealer body, using the national advisory committee as a sounding board to develop a marketing strategy that works,” said Ryan Gremore, president, O’Brien Mitsubishi. “Pairing the Outlander with a classic, recognizable song, like Thunderstruck, is going to be absolute dynamite and will reinvigorate the customer base. In addition, launching a product like Outlander that speaks to Mitsubishi culture and having music that matches that attitude, with customizable ads at the Tier III level, will continue to reenergize our brand.”

Why it Works

Unite’s approach leverages OEM high-quality media, music and creative to provide dealers with personalized broadcast, radio, digital and social assets with a direct-to-dealer message that would be out of reach of any individual dealership’s budget.

Delivering Tier I advertising at the Tier III level achieves the following:

• Extends reach and effectiveness by delivering a consistent message with the same high-quality advertising, product and service features.
• Provides a comprehensive asset set for broadcast, digital, and connected TV with integrated dealer price points, logos and URLs.

“As OEMs review their Tier II strategies, they should consider approaches that leverage their buying power with high-quality creative to connect consumers directly to local dealers, driving traffic and sales,” Coopes said.

The success of this practice signals that the U.S. industry’s long-standing methods on second-tier marketing funds continue to face disruption.

Mitsubishi funds the asset development, and dealers fund their own advertising budgets to place the ads in their local market. Thus, dealers can tag and price point Mitsubishi’s TV and radio spots featuring AC/DC’s iconic hit Thunderstruck at whatever level is suitable for their market.

Mitsubishi Motors’ new “Thunderstruck” campaign was developed in collaboration with The Sussman Agency in Detroit. The agency worked in close collaboration with MMNA, Unite Digital and its National Advisory Board dealer partners, ensuring a cohesive and memorable set of creative deliverables that differentiates the brand for a national audience while providing an aligned and targeted platform for locally customized executions.

Directed by creative veteran Susan Stallings, the high-energy spot is characterized by synchronized sound and lighting, taking inspiration from the response the Outlander consistently evokes when people experience it in person.