Mazda Wants to Buckle Up Baby
American Baby magazine, a Meredith publication, has entered into its first marketing partnership with Mazda, as part of the automaker’s recently announced commitment to reach out to the young family market through tactics other than traditional television advertising.
To bring its new family-friendly Mazda5 to market, the car-maker has launched a multi-part American Baby program that includes two national contests, event marketing, print and online advertising, and the creation of a half-hour television show to air on 200 TV stations nationwide in February 2006.
Other partners include Babies “R” Us, Sony and Nationwide Insurance.
In concurrent national contests, the magazine will search for the five cutest babies in the country, through American Baby’s Casting Call program, while Mazda searches for a family who best represents “the new face of parenthood.” The Casting Calls take place at Babies “R” Us nationwide, including Eatontown, NJ, Charlotte, NC, Augusta, GA and Ft. Myers, FL. The new vehicle will be on display at each Casting Call site.
Five grand-prize winners for the American Baby Casting Call will be chosen by the magazine’s editors. Winners will receive a trip for three to New York City, where each baby will be photographed for inclusion in a fashion spread to be published in the February 2006 issue. Additional prizes include a Sony DVD Camcorder and a gift valued at $1,000 from Nationwide.
The winning family chosen by Mazda as its ideal representation of the “new Mazda5 Family” will win a touring model of the car, with DVD based navigation, valued at $22,410. A photo of the family will be featured in a print ad that will run in the February 2006 issue of American Baby magazine.
American Baby will also produce, for the first time, a custom, half-hour television program, a behind-the-scenes look at Casting Call. Presented by Mazda, the program will air on over 200 stations nationwide in February 2006. Footage will be shot at Casting Call events at Babies “R” Us locations and at the winners’ photo shoot in New York City.
“We’ve found that our audience—— decision makers when it comes to the new family car,” says Norma Blatto, publisher, American Baby. “In fact, our research shows that nearly half of first time mothers purchased a new vehicle in the last 12 months, and for 69%, the decision to purchase a new vehicle was a result of becoming a new mother.”
Families who cannot attend the events can also enter either contest by mail or online at Americanbaby.com/mazda5contest.
