GM
The Partnership
In 2021, we partnered with Carat US to form Carat Hero EQ, a strategic initiative to develop and execute on culturally fluent insights, strategies, and purpose-driven approaches to media buying, planning, and branded content executions. Partnering with Clients like GM, we make emotionally intelligent work, bringing culture-first narratives and ideas to life through meaningful media that expands audience reach and consumer connectivity.
The Situation
As the auto industry works to develop vehicles and products that do more than simply get people from point A to point B, giants like GM understand that driving culture takes many forms. To remain at the forefront of that culture, they needed to put a wider range of people at the center of their communications and content.
The Challenge
Drivers’ needs have evolved – they’re in the market for products that help them pursue their passions, put family first, and live life to the fullest. GM had those forward-looking offerings, but had to begin telling larger stories around them, and had to tell those stories to more kinds of people.
What We Did
Hero stepped in to help GM activate their cultural superpower and build deeper consumer relationships with culture-forward media outlets, to craft high-end, human-centered branded content series. We seamlessly positioned GM vehicle divisions at the heart of discussions centered around topics such as family, safety, community impact, living boldly, and dreaming big.
The Campaign
This custom video series featured social influencers Kevin “Kevonstage” and wife Melissa Fredericks + family, focusing the conversation on the dynamics of a Black family and what it means to feel safe and connected, all while highlighting OnStar and the Guardian App.
The Campaign
We co-developed the Undeniably Seen, Undeniably Heard series featuring the all-electric 2024 Cadillac LYRIQ, alongside cultural tastemakers Phil Yoon + Mel Cheng & Janet Wang of AsianBossGirl, who told their stories of living boldly, taking up space, and pursuing passions at the highest level.
The Campaign
We tapped into the celebrity of Grammy award-winning gospel artist Erica Campbell for our What Moves You? collaboration with Urban One/Madam Noire, weaving the Buick Enclave Avenir and brand cues into Erica’s passion-point narrative: her family and her community.
The Campaign
We gathered Black business owners in Martha’s Vineyard for lunch and a celebratory discussion of Black excellence for EBONY’s legacy franchise Date With A Dish. These respected icons of varied expertise each arrived in a Cadillac Escalade, interweaving the Brand’s ethos throughout this roundtable discussion on innovation, dreaming big, and boldly chasing your dreams.
The Campaign
More Than That expanded from an audio podcast to a 4-part limited TV series, with Buick sponsoring the first two episodes airing across Revolt’s linear, digital, streaming, and social channels. Host Gia Peppers interviewed iconic local figures, successful professionals, and subject matter experts about Black culture, creativity, ingenuity, and ways to fix the systemic problems the Black community faces.
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Activating their cultural superpower, we led the recommendation and logistical planning for Buick’s $25,000 commitment to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Additionally, this initiative drove $47,000 in direct donor contributions, bringing the total to over $72,000 to help fund educational resources for the Black community. Helping the brand authentically engage with this target audience went beyond surrounding a cultural moment – it was tangible participation in progressively moving the culture forward.
