When it comes to marketing choices, there are some that make too much sense to avoid. To market Finding Dory, Disney/Pixar held special events at water-themed areas (aka aquariums); for the world premiere of Tomorrowland, Disney pulled out all the stops and held an after-party at Disneyland’s (you guessed it) Tomorrowland. When you think of the Cars franchise, there are plenty of ways for Disney and Pixar to create buzz, but auto shows are an obvious choice. Cars 3 is doing just that, as the film will be a presence at a Detroit auto show. Find more details after the break.
Auto shows are known to draw hundreds of thousands of car enthusiasts. The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), held annually in Detroit, Michigan, is one of the largest auto shows in the country. Today, NAIAS announced that Pixar would “participate” (via CBS Detroit). A press conference is scheduled for Sunday, January 8th, where the studio is expected to preview Cars 3. Additionally, NAIAS detailed that a life-size version of one of the characters would make an appearance. Considering Cars Land at Disney California Adventure has some spectacular life-size models of current characters, this should not be challenging for Pixar to pull off. Still, it is now known just yet whether a new character will be shown or if it will be stars like Lightning McQueen or Mater.
The studio will be making an appearance on the show floor as well, with a “Cars 3-themed display” that will presumably be a photo opportunity for passers-by. Considering that close to a million people are expected to make it to the Detroit show, that is quite a large number of people who will be exposed to the film. Given that, above all, Detroit is the “Motor City,” it is a logical place for the marketing campaign to kick off.
The NAIAS will be open to the public at Cobo Center on January 14-22. Cars 3 hits theaters on June 16th.
