Chevy Forms Multi-Million Dollar Deal With Nickelodeon
(Promo) Chevrolet has signed a multimillion dollar advertising deal with Nickelodeon as part of a new initiative to reach consumers across multiple platforms.
The effort, which includes an online sweepstakes, is part of a new campaign by General Motors to target families.
The deal, which kicked off in April, highlights the 2005 Chevrolet Uplander sports van, which includes TV spots on Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and print ads in Nickelodeon Magazine and Nick Jr. Family Magazine and Internet materials on www.nickjr.com. In addition, Nick Jr. will air TV spots to build awareness around PhatNoise technology, a new 40-gigabyte entertainment system to be installed in Uplander vans and other GM vehicles, which plays and contains music tracks, video clips and arcade games.
Under the agreement, Nickelodeon will add 20 hours of programming, including “The Fairly Odd Parents,” “SpongeBob Square Pants” and “Blue’s Clues” to the Uplander’s PhatNoise system. The PhatNoise system will roll out in other GM sports vehicles, including Saturn, Buick and Pontiac, this year.
Chevrolet’s partnership with Nickelodeon will run for about one year.
“Clearly, partnering with a company like GM is a powerful statement for Nickelodeon about being able to be in business with non-endemic partners,” said Jim Perry, senior VP-Nickelodeon Ad Sales. “It’s about getting our programs and our brands out to kids in new and different ways. We want to at the forefront of what is going on out there and reach kids in a lot of different places.”
As an added incentive, consumers who visit nickjr.com to test the PhatNoise technology can enter a sweepstakes to win a new Chevrolet Uplander LT and a vacation at the new Nickelodeon Family Suites by Holiday Inn, which officially opens this weekend in Orlando, FL. To create further buzz around Chevy’s sports van, an Uplander and a product specialist will be on site at the hotel during the grand opening. Two Uplander vehicles will be used as courtesy cars to transport hotel guests.
The sweepstakes is open to consumers 21 and older and runs through July 31. Print ads in Nick Jr. Family magazine, TV spots during the Nick Jr. block and Internet materials support.
The automotive industry is a category Nickelodeon has often partnered with, Perry said. Nickelodeon worked with market research firm JD Power and Associates to conduct a survey on children’s involvement in the vehicle buying process, and found that children influence their parents’ car purchasing decisions.
That survey, conducted in 2003, found that 78% of parents said they had conversations with their children about cars while they were shopping for a vehicle. The survey also found that 61% of children told their parents what kind of car they wanted them to buy.
“It became very clear to us family dynamics were changing, that kids’ roles in the family were changing,” Perry said. “[Kids] have a tremendous amount of influence on a lot of decisions families make.”
