Mercedes-Benz Launches Marketing Campaign for New C-Class Station Wagon

Stuttgart, Cairo / November 14, 2007

Mercedes-Benz has kicked off a comprehensive marketing campaign for the new C-Class station wagon. The integrated campaign, which will be launched on the market on December 1, 2007, features numerous communication activities across all media channels and is designed to support the sales launch of the station wagon version of the C-Class - the best-selling model series in the Mercedes-Benz portfolio. All the ads, in all types of media, will present the new station wagon on a stage - as the "star" of a modern opera. The opera theme was especially chosen to highlight the great presence and agility of the new model.

"In a manner similar to the approach used with the launch of the new C-Class sedan, Mercedes-Benz is seeking to motivate existing and potential customers to experience the station wagon's outstanding features for themselves," says Dr. G?ttgens, Vice President Brand Communications Mercedes-Benz Cars. "Along with proven traditional communication instruments, we will once again also be focusing strongly on various forms of hands-on experience with the vehicle and online communication. Measures here include exclusive driving events, a Mobile Marketing Special, and communication via innovative platforms such as Mercedes-Benz TV and FLOADED."
Traditional print ads and a TV commercial


The print campaign will be launched on November 14, 2007, with three different ads - i.e. three opera acts - in high-circulation magazines, and it will later be extended to daily newspapers. As with most other communication measures for the model, the print ads will have as their centerpiece a palladium-silver C-Class station wagon on a stage, flanked by a curtain and background scenery. The message of each of the three ad designs will be conveyed by means of their background scenery and a powerful statement, such as: "Act 2: A grandiose driving experience in every curve."

A TV commercial lasting 30 or 45 seconds is to be broadcast by public and private television stations that reach large audiences, depicting the C-Class station wagon in "The Battle Against the Wind." In this act of the C-Class station wagon opera, the wind attempts - and fails - to overtake the vehicle. It then goes into a rage, as a storm begins to brew and bolts of lighting are shot from the heavens . The C-Class then swerves to avoid a tree felled by the lightning, once again demonstrating its impressive agility. As in an actual stage production, the vehicle remains stationary, with props moving by it and special camera and lighting techniques creating the illusion that the car is being driven along the stage. The commercial will also be shown during the in-flight entertainment program on Lufthansa flights. Shortly before the official launch of the commercial on TV stations, Mercedes-Benz TV will premiere the commercial and also present a "making-of" show. The campaign for the C-Class station wagon was developed in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz' lead agency Jung von Matt, and it will be supplemented on the German market by extensive CRM and retail marketing measures, as well as radio commercials and large-format billboards.
Innovative online communication with interactive product information

Various online media will serve as a wide-ranging and entertaining forum for the international campaign. The Mercedes-Benz websites for individual countries will offer customers and anyone interested in the new C-Class station wagon extensive product information and the opportunity to view a self-configured model from various perspectives in the 360° Zoom Colorator. The software here allows users to select any combination of the model's various equipment lines, color options, alloy wheels, and interior designs - all according to their personal tastes.

Mercedes-Benz TV broadcast the world premiere of the C-Class station wagon at the IAA Motor Show. The station's market-launch coverage will include product information features and the first driving report on the vehicle from a driving presentation in Mainz.
Focus on the car-customer encounter: customers to experience the new C-Class station wagon's great presence and agility first-hand


Given the very positive results of the driving events for the market launch of the new C-Class, Mercedes-Benz has decided to once again directly appeal to existing and potential customers for the station wagon. The encounter between car and customer is thus a key element in a package of measures geared toward very personalized interaction with customers.

There will be two types of driving events. The first will have Mercedes-Benz addressing existing and potential customers in various vacation regions, while the second type will feature presentations at selected upscale shopping centers and malls, highlighting the new station wagon's attractive features, such as its spacious cargo area