Audi's Augmented Reality A1 and Ford's Facebook Explorer (car reveals)

Source: Digital Buzz Blog

Audi launched the A1 with an Augmented Reality calendar for 2010. A calendar that is carless, yes that means it has no cars displayed throughout the calendar. Coming from a brand such as Audi, it could be seen as highly risky for non-tech lover customers, who would just see landscape pictures for the whole year. However for those who enjoyed the iPhone app, have a beautiful calendar that will interact with you and your mobile for the whole year (probably on your wall somewhere.. around the awesome section). On the February 2010 calendar page, the Audi A1 was revealed through the app. People who engaged with the brand in this way received the first sneak peaks at the new Audi A1

 To quote the video, "The Results, Vorsprung durch Technik came alive"

Similar to this, Ford tried a completely different approach to releasing the Ford Explorer coming out in 2011. The first reveals of the new model will be made available to those involved with the community of just under 60k people on the Ford Facebook page. Mashable.com published an excellent article covering the story further.

Both cases above illustrate an exceptional leap into the future of brands focusing on relationship forming advertising. These companies clearly have a strategy and must have done tons of research before venturing into these brave social media campaigns. I wonder how effective each were in aquiring and attaining new clients, but I do like to see reputable car brands using these marketing platforms. I encourage you to jump in and add your view points or related facts in the comments section!