VIMEO PASSWORD: regenregenBranded entertainment is exploding in the U.S. as marketers endeavour to mitigate advertising avoidance by reaching consumers through shared passions and values. The most popular approaches are product integration into TV shows or movies, licensing deals with musicians and curated content or experiences. The transactions are simple: A brand pays to be associated with an entertainment property and leverages it to appeal to its audience.But there’s a stark difference between co-opting culture and creating it. Our challenge was to earn Hyundai the attention of the young, creative class – a discerning audience who respects the difference between an original idea and sponsoring someone else’s creation. So we developed an original entertainment property that would attract artists, capture the imaginations of these fans, and ultimately earn media for the brand.By launching the RE:GENERATION Music Project, with Hyundai as the program’s benefactor, we were in charge of our own destiny. We crafted it for Hyundai’s young, creative audience. We developed it around the brand’s themes. We selected the artists. We contrived unusual situations to yield musical innovation. We flipped the model from brand as sponsor to brand as programmer. And at the end of it all, we owned the idea.

We wanted to become part of culture, so RE:GENERATION was launched as a legitimate film. It premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre before a nationwide theatrical release and was screened multiple times at SXSW and Coachella. It’s currently available on Hulu and Fuse TV.The soundtrack went top-10 on radio, with music videos featured on Vevo and YouTube. Artists performed on late night talk shows and gave the tracks away with a Hyundai branded widget.

Publicity trumped paid media as we seeded content with music and film. Journalists broke the story with more credibility than we could have through advertising.

RE:GENERATION became Hyundai’s calling card in music and a demonstration of the brand’s innovative thinking to a new audience. It’s earned over 780m media impressions to date through a mix of online features, print editorial, musical performances on late night talk shows, and radio interviews.

Every piece of the program was designed to maximise Hyundai’s engagement with the young, creative class. The soundtrack cracked the top-10 on college radio and was downloaded 3m times through a branded widget. The film was an official selection at SXSW, sold out major markets in a 4-week nationwide theatrical release and was screened at the Coachella Music Festival. The content anchored a new Hyundai YouTube channel, driving over 10m people to a branded environment with relevant product messaging.

Throughout the cultural conversation, Hyundai has been given sincere credit by journalists and fans for its role in the project. The brand has earned more than respect. Through licensing deals with Hulu and Fuse, the film will earn $130m in advertising inventory as every broadcast and digital stream contains 2 minutes of messaging to initiate brand conversations with consumers in the right context.And in the end, Hyundai owns the idea.