This campaign is relevant for Media because it showcases the strategic use of audio platforms, particularly radio and podcasts, to amplify brand messaging.

By leveraging the rich history of music mentioning Mercedes-Benz, we aimed to reignite the brand's cultural relevance, particularly among young adults.

Taking control of France's premier music radio station, Radio Nova, we orchestrated a 24-hour exclusive broadcast of songs mentioning Mercedes-Benz.

Additionally, we produced 15 podcasts exploring the inspiration behind these songs.

This campaign's multi-platform approach, including OOH posters, social media, and dealership activations, ensured broad media coverage, reinforcing the brand's presence across various media channels.

There are many French songs that also mention the Mercedes-Benz brand (particularly from the Rap scene), which made this campaign highly relevant locally.

It is also important to note that Radio Nova is an iconic national radio station in France and is considered to be the ultimate reference of musical eclecticism for the French.

The Situation

Mercedes-Benz is more than just a German car maker – it's a cultural icon.

But despite this, many members of the new generation see it simply as another high-end carmaker and no longer consider it as a cultural powerhouse.

The Brief

Establish Mercedes-Benz as a pop culture icon to maintain appeal with future markets (Gen Y, Gen Z).

The Objective

Strengthening the brand's image among its future-market audience, which demonstrated a significant affinity for music.

The Media Insight

In the world of music, Mercedes-Benz reigns supreme. According to our analysis on the Genius.com database, Mercedes-Benz is currently the most mentioned car brand in the history of music (16,415 tracks).

For that reason, music and audio platforms are the ideal place to prove the brand's ultimate iconicity and key role in pop culture.

Our analysis using the Genius.com database revealed that Mercedes-Benz was currently the most mentioned car brand in the history of music with 16,415 tracks.

This observation justified our creative approach, involving the takeover of Radio Nova's programming (France's most renowned national music radio station) for 24 hours. During this period, we exclusively broadcast songs that centered around Mercedes-Benz, complemented by 15 exclusive podcasts unveiling the captivating stories behind these musical tributes.

To amplify our reach, we immersed ourselves in French music culture with a limited-edition double vinyl release of 2,000 copies and a musical showcase in collaboration with Universal Music.

This campaign also includes OOH posters in the metro, on Mercedes-Benz and Radio Nova social networks, and in dealerships, where customers were able to enjoy a selection of tracks from "The Iconic Playlist" at the wheel of Mercedes-Benz cars.

The strategy for the "Iconic Playlist" campaign centered on engaging a younger demographic, particularly Gen Y and Gen Z, who may have overlooked Mercedes-Benz's cultural significance. Leveraging the brand's rich history in music, we curated songs and created podcasts showcasing music inspired by Mercedes-Benz, aiming to reignite its presence in pop culture.

Media planning involved partnering with Radio Nova, France's most renown music radio station, to broadcast the curated playlists and podcasts. However, this broadcast occurred during the station's normal musical programming and never during the traditional advertising airtime.

This allowed us to directly connect with our target audience through their preferred audio medium. Additionally, we capitalized on social media platforms and outdoor advertising to amplify the campaign's reach beyond the 24h event.

This unconventional approach offered consumers a unique and immersive experience that blended music with the iconic Mercedes-Benz brand, ultimately driving engagement and brand relevance among younger audiences.

First, we created a playlist of the most iconic songs mentioning Mercedes-Benz (curated from the 16,415 tracks mentioning the brand).

And we also produced 15 exclusive podcasts revealing the story behind famous songs and artists that were inspired by the brand and its cars (including Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Janis Joplin or Ella Fitzgerald).

Secondly, with this iconic playlist, we took control of France's most respected music radio station (Radio Nova), where our playlist simply replaced their music programming for 24 hours.

Then, to extend our reach beyond this media event, we launched a limited-edition vinyl featuring the playlist and hosted a musical showcase in collaboration with Universal Music.

This campaign also includes OOH posters driving to the playlist and dealerships activations where customers were able to enjoy a selection of tracks from "The Iconic Playlist" at the wheel of Mercedes-Benz cars.

"The Iconic Playlist" had a direct impact on the growing success of the Mercedes-Benz brand in France, reinforcing its image and fostering positive perception among future-buyers of the brand.

A YouGov study conducted in France between Q1 and November 2023 revealed that Mercedes-Benz gained 3.5 points in positive perception among the GenZ/GenY target following the campaign.

During the radio takeover, the brand achieved its highest search volumes of the year on Google, surpassing even those during new model launches (source: Google Trends). This underscores its success in generating heightened interest and engagement with the brand.

This notable surge confirms the effectiveness this radio-hacking strategy, solidifying the brand's connection with music and captivating a younger audience who actively embraced the campaign.

As a result, we achieved 44 million organic impressions and generated over €340K in earned media value for the brand (by almost simply playing cool songs on the radio).