[1]Mercedes-Benz says thank you to Facebook fans via video
German automaker Mercedes-Benz USA is thanking its 9 million Facebook fans by releasing a video featuring its CLS-class vehicle and painting with light special effects.
The video titled “Light-Painting in Real-Time” shows off the automaker’s CLS-class in a live-action painting with light video by Finnish director Anssi Määttä. The video was promoted on the mb! by Mercedes-Benz’s Web site and the brand’s Facebook page.
“Producing a special video to recognize those fans and thank them is a terrific way for Mercedes-Benz to show that it goes the extra mile when it comes to extending its appreciation,” said John Casey, founder and director at FreshFluff [2], New York.
“It shows Mercedes customers that the brand is aware of its fans’ support and cares enough to produce a video to acknowledge that support,” he said.
“I think taking the time to develop a special video of thanks is a class act that reflects a classy brand.”
Mr. Casey is not affiliated with Mercedes-Benz, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Mercedes-Benz [3]was not available to comment before press deadline.
Light show
The approximately minute-long video starts off with a black screen with flashes of colored light.
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Light painting video
Lights in the air dimly light the area around a Mercedes-Benz vehicle.
The lights are first shown around a CLS-class vehicle, then it cuts to an inside the vehicle view of the lights for a couple of seconds.
The number 9 million is drawn out with lights in front of the CLS.
Then the light artist writes “Fans” and “Thank you” with the lights.
The Mercedes-Benz logo also appears along with the other light creations around the vehicle.
Then, the screen cuts to black and text appears that reads, “Mercedes-Benz says thank you for 9,000,0000 fans on Facebook!”
The screen finally prompts users to “Join the conversation” via Mercedes-Benz social media pages and provides links to those pages.
Light-Painting in Real-Time video
The extra mile
The social video was a creation collaboration between mb! by Mercedes-Benz and Finnish director Mr. Määttä, who has been working with live-painting videos for over a year.
Mercedes-Benz posted the video on its own Facebook page with a thank-you note attached.
A still image from the video is the cover photo on Mercedes-Benz Facebook page.
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Facebook post
The post was “liked” more than 4,600 times and shared more than 580 times since its debut on Dec. 2.
Recently, other luxury marketers have created videos to further engage consumers with their brands.
French fashion house Chanel invited consumers to learn the intimate history of its N°5 fragrance through a video featuring Marilyn Monroe that is the second chapter of its Inside Chanel videos (see story [6]).
French fashion label Christian Dior featured J’Adore Dior in a film centered on the creation of the fragrance that is meant to spark interest from its social media community (see story [7]).
“Social videos are becoming the number one way for brands to communicate with their online fans and followers,” Mr. Casey said.
However, adding the thank-you component into this video adds extra value to the brand of Mercedes-Benz.
“The video of thanks should help Mercedes-Benz solidify brand loyalty among its fans, followers and customers,” Mr. Casey said.
Final take
Erin Shea, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
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