According to JD Power & Associates, there will be 71 SUV launches from 2018 to 2020. With the SUV segment continuing to dominate the automotive industry, it is critical to Cadillac’s ongoing success to grow in the segment.

As America’s oldest luxury auto maker, Cadillac has been the personification of classic American cool for years, especially with Baby Boomers / Generation X. However, the brand has struggled to connect and with younger consumers compared to the heavy competition and is seen as the car their ‘grandfather would drive.’

With these unprecedented challenges and a new vehicle launch campaign looming, Cadillac’s challenge was to create a real cultural connection with millennial consumers, and in the process, open that generations’ mind to the launch of the XT4, Cadillac’s first-ever compact luxury SUV.

Perseverance and pursuit of excellence are attributes that Cadillac uses to help bring to life one of the brand’s key pillars: entrepreneurship. ‘Hustle’, a show about the empowerment of fearless entrepreneurs and their drive to make it, not only had natural alignment with this pillar, but embodies the mindset that the younger millennial audience gravitates towards, providing fertile ground for creativity and connection.

In ‘Hustle’, host John Henry, a young Dominican-American and successful self-made entrepreneur, visits eight challenged startup owners to quickly identify issues in their current business plans and work towards solutions. Cadillac and the XT4 are integrated throughout the entire series as a true partner for John Henry on his journey to help other likeminded and diverse young business owners take action towards achieving their dreams.

As a consumer facing credited co-producer of the series, this also positions Cadillac as a supporter and ally

As part of the XT4 launch, it was imperative that Cadillac seek out authentic environments and innovative ways to create more meaningful moments to captivate our key target audience, inspiring them to engage with the brand. While high-profile prime-time properties offer the opportunity for mass scale & reach, Cadillac needed to focus on stronger branded entertainment moments for the XT4 that could be more strategically unique and ownable for the brand.

The ‘Hustle’ partnership not only provided an opportunity to insert Cadillac into a fresh culturally resonant space that rooted in shared values, while also creating a platform of ownable IP on a network with the highest ad-block retention. The Viceland ecosystem proved to be a valuable and effective audience target, with strong affinity for Cadillac amongst the luxury competitive set.

The Cadillac XT4 was extensively integrated within each of the eight, 45-minute episodes of Hustle on Viceland, totaling over 25 minutes of vehicle exposure throughout the series across broadcast, OTT and digital. In addition to multiple exterior and interior vehicle placements, deeper feature integrations aligning with priority messaging pillars like style, performance, safety and advanced technology were woven into the foundation of each episode’s storyline, playing a pivotal role in driving the narrative forward.

Cadillac and Viceland created a custom :30 spot with John Henry and the XT4 to further augment the series storyline and offer business advice highlighted through corresponding vehicle features. This content aired linearly in each premiere alongside billboards touting Cadillac’s co-producer naming rights. To celebrate the launch of Hustle, Viceland and Cadillac orchestrated an immersive live experience, incorporating products from the businesses featured in-show, at the brand’s premium experiential space, Cadillac House in New York City.

BRAND IMPACT

Existing in-market affinity for Cadillac on Viceland was 4.06x (higher than our lux competitors).

Following Hustle, that affinity rose even higher to 4.78x in March 2019. An increase of 18%.

HUSTLE had a Halo impact on the Cadillac Brand driving an average +9 increase in the measurement of brand net momentum for those who viewed the show.

PRODUCT IMPACT

Drove significant increases for the XT4 model both in opinion and consideration vs. automotive norms (opinion lift +9; consideration lift +10).

Drove significant increases in XT4 model association with key qualitative traits - “Excellent Quality” (+10), “Bold” (+19), “Brand for Me” (+11)

87% of those who viewed episodes felt an increased interest in XT4 and 88% reported more positive sentiment about the vehicle.

Hustle drove consideration increases for Cadillac against the luxury Lux 1 SUV segment from 57% to 67% making it the most highly considered amongst the set. Segment options included (Lexus NX, BMW X2, Volvo XC40, Lincoln MKC, Mercedes Benz GLC)

CONSUMPTION

HUSTLE helped drove increases of active dwell time with surrounding Cadillac media by 33 seconds (40sec to 73).

VCR 89% above Viceland benchmark for full-length, syndicated content on Youtube and .com

SHOW PERCEPTION

92% of viewers enjoyed HUSTLE

88% felt the show is relevant

90% said they will watch more episodes