Cadillac Wagers its Fast Cars on Xbox Racing Game
Owners of an Xbox 360 car-racing game can now download free content that puts high performance vehicles from Cadillac on the racetrack.
A deal between Cadillac and Microsoft offers owners of the Project Gotham Racing 3 (PGR3) video game the opportunity to go to the Xbox.com micro site to download the content, which includes three Cadillac V-Series high performance vehicles. Once downloaded, gamers can pit the Cadillac cars against others on the game’s racetracks.
“If you think about gamers that play Microsoft’s most popular racing game, they are a demographic with a median age range of 28 to 35 and are men,” said Kevin Smith, spokesperson, Cadillac, a division of Detroit-based GM. “Obviously, not all of those gamers can afford the Cadillac, but [the partnership] is all about raising awareness and changing their attitude for when they can afford luxury cars.”
Players who clock the top 100 racing time with any of the Cadillac vehicles will achieve Cadillac Elite status, a ranking system which identifies the gamer as top notch. The automaker will eventually offer this elite group access to exclusive events, customized downloadable content and potential prizes, Smith said.
“We’re offering constructive content for PGR3 that is desirable inside the gaming community,” said Liz Vanzura, marketing director, Cadillac in a statement. “Gamers will enjoy racing our high-performance V-Series vehicles against some of the world’s finest sports cars and Cadillac Elite status will be a highly coveted and valuable level of achievement for players to strive for. It’s taking brand integration to another level.”
The content is promoted via Xbox.com and through gaming news sites. Xbox Live, the online community for gamers, connects more than 2 million members across more than 24 countries.
This is value-added content for Xbox users and “we hope this is the beginning of a long lasting relationship with Microsoft,” Smith said. “We hope to do more of this in the future.”
Cadillac’s gaming agency Play, a division of Denuo, handled creative concepting and execution with Microsoft and game maker Bizarre Creations. GM Planworks, Leo Burnett, Arc and Speedshape collaborated on the program, as well.
Last year, automakers spent $8.45 billion in advertising domestically, according to TNS Media Intelligence.
