The events that marketing calls ”cross promotion” or even advertising are increasingly reliant on the element of surprise, and organisers have imagined connections that are not necessarily obvious or conventional. If the cars on display at the mall or the theatre plays in coffee shops are no longer something out of the ordinary, trying a luxury coach for an hour while watching a theatre play or configuring your car among racks of Dior clothes is not as conventional, at least not in Romania. To companies, the idea generates a number of advantages, from consolidation of their image to lucrative aspects. Surprise can also make consumers forget about the crisis budget and leave with the keys of a car instead of a dress or buy a blouse or a piece of furniture during the intermission of a theatre play.

When the AutoItalia representatives launched the Infiniti brand (the Nissan luxury division) on the Romanian market they avoided the classic option, a party in their own showroom. Instead, they chose to display the cars in front of one of the biggest multibrand luxury store, Victoria 46 and open a configuration space inside the store for one month. As a result, the luxury fashion fans could configure one of the Infiniti models from the dashboard installed on the top floor of the store while checking out the new Christian Dior or Yves Saint Laurent collections. ”Victoria 46 is a trend-setter in terms of clothing, it targets connoisseurs first of all. It was a natural choice as a partner for Infiniti, because the two brands have lots in common,” explains Mircea Eremia, general manager of Infiniti Romania. On the other hand, the malls, one of the places automotive importers like to use to advertise, are no longer settling for simply displaying the models and have started to organise events for car fans.

For one day, the car park of Plaza Romania was converted into a rally track, with pilot Titi Aur offering a drifting demonstration just like in the ”The Fast and Furious”.

TRADUCERE DE LOREDANA FRATILA-CRISTESCU SI DANIELA STOICAN