Our research revealed that the Cadenza’s “Sophisticates” target was seeking transformational

experiences – ones that provided new perspectives they could incorporate into their lives. This target does feel passionate about digital experiences, nor do they enjoy the dealership experience. The void in digital and lack of emotional engagement in media proved to be the perfect opportunity for the Cadenza to engage with the target. They had one foot in traditional media, where they had their trusted resources, and the other in emerging technologies they felt gave them hooks for instant gratification and deeper more immersive experiences. We wanted to provide media experiences that helped them seize the day. This program helped to set the stage for consideration and engagement during the launch.

Through a series of live immersive New York Times “Times Talks” events that took place in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, we leveraged VR, AR, and GIFs to engage our audience. A series of DSLR cameras created highly-stylized real-time GIFs for participants in Cadenza’s Film Noir video. A “musical experiment” featuring John Legend turned the exterior and interior of the Cadenza into an instrument that individuals could play. Finally, augmented reality powered the audience in Miami to scan and explore the Cadenza for design details after enjoying a live talk from the designer of the Cadenza.

The content from these events were distributed to the public via The New York Times’ channels and AR app, participants’ social channels, and paid distribution in Facebook, Instagram and YouTube starting in mid-February 2017 through the early April 2017.

According to survey data, Kia Cadenza’s “Impossible to Ignore” experiences resulted in 60% of event attendees to change their opinion of the car . The content from the events generated over 16MM video views. This campaign contributed to sales for the Kia Cadenza that were the highest since launched in 2013, with a YOY increase of 52.9% at a time that the category continued to shrink.

Since shopping and buying practices will continue to evolve as a result of technology-driven retail innovations, opportunities to bridge new shopping experiences and foster strong emotional connections between brands and consumers in this “third place” and will increase.