Audi inauguration ad

Major inauguration coverage, huh… what’s that? Once upon a time it was pages of reporting and photographs in every U.S hamlet, village, town and city daily or weekly newspapers the day after the event. Unfortunately the demise of newspapers has been steady and now in many cities newspapers are damn near comatose.

Radio reporting became a big deal thanks in part to FDR’s fireside chats, but it too waned in popularity for live coverage.

Newsreels in movie houses used clips of parades and speeches several days later and we know what happened to this one time media outlet.

News magazines were a week late, but often had arresting photographs, but a couple ceased operations years ago and those remaining are an endangered news source too with not on the moment coverage.

Then 4 decades ago, television emerged with on-the-spot live coverage, albeit black and white, of the JFK inaugural and his famous “Ask not what you can do” speech.

Since then television has eclipsed newspapers, radio and magazines as the choice for instant news. Now television itself is under siege by news sources and sites on the Internet. Internet viewers and audience have grown exponentially in live coverage, impact and ease of access and for many is now the source of immediate news and most analysis.

Television news now includes the historic Big 3 (that’s a familiar tern, isn’t it) and the tough new guys – CNN, Fox, MSNBC, PBS and of course C-Span.  All are now fighting for coverage and access.

Which leads us to the inauguration Tuesday at 11:56 a.m. EST of the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama: potentially and probably, the single biggest media event ever.

Who pays for coverage? Advertisers, that’s who.

Audi of America has made a big investment, a bold undertaking, but has, I believe, a limited risk to become the major sponsor, not just automotive, but the major sponsor of the inaugural in broadcast television, web-streaming and print mediums of the inauguration.

Media mavens have forecast Obama’s inauguration will eclipse Princess Diana’s funeral in media coverage with 2.5 billion viewers worldwide and certainly the perennial winners in the U.S., Super Bowls and he Academy Awards.

Obama at Lincoln Memorial

Audi’s Program

This is the biggest “gotcha” ambush marketing and advertising program I’ve ever heard of no matter the industry.  Audi has assumed a unique position of automotive advertising leadership based on guts and aggressive action that is unrivaled in scope, content and focus.

For sometime the brand has said – on the record too –  they want to be more recognized as an important brand in the U.S. Well, this should do it … big time.  Here are the basic elements of the campaign:

• Broadcast Network News – ABC, CBS and NBC the traditional news networks coverage during the nightly news will be sponsored by Audi.
• Internet News — Audi will then bring millions of Americans the inauguration speech live online as the exclusive sponsor of the streaming broadcasts on four major news Web sites: ABCNews.com, CBSNews.com, Msnbc.com, and WashingtonPost.com.  All with limited or no commercials
• Audi Promotion – in a nod to the faltering newspaper industry in America, Audi will reach more than 8.6 million people with its Jan. 20 inauguration program with an eight-page “Progress Is Beautiful” newspaper insert that s business focused. It will be distributed in major publications across the United States, including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Boston Globe.
• Other Online — Audi also has a full-day sponsorship of Slate.com and sole sponsorship of TheAtlantic.com Web sites on Jan. 20.

The inaugural program announced last Friday by Johan de Nysschen, President, Audi of America who said,  “Regardless of political preferences, the inauguration represents a unique moment of progress. That’s why we wanted to share this experience and begin a conversation about innovation, technology and the path ahead.”

Tomorrow’s inauguration is high noon EST … gee that’s lunch time but it’s also a new primetime for Obama’s historic event. There will be millions of working American’s – the day after celebrating the Martin Luther King holiday – who will forgo lunch to remain in bland cubicles to watch the historic inauguration on their work computers rather than U-Tube or Facebook.

Later that day, Audi will partner with ABC, CBS, and NBC to present each network’s evening newscast with limited commercial interruption. This partnership is the first of its kind and is expected to provide the recap of the historic day to more than 19 million viewers.

Scott Keogh, chief marketing officer of Audi noted, “The uncommon shared experience of the inauguration offered a remarkable opportunity to connect with Americans. In honoring this historic moment, Audi is also communicating the inherent spirit of progress and innovation that is the core of our corporate DNA.”

Audi’s commercials, according to a spokesperson, include a new “Mostly type :60-second commercial resembling the newspaper insert” in addition to commercials used to introduce the brand’s key vehicle, the new A4.