The Subversive Score.

Every brand wants to stay culturally relevant, but for Lincoln, connecting with a younger Millennial audience wasn’t just a nice-to-have—it was a must. 

If we know anything about this generation (and we like to think we do), the only thing they love more than instant gratification is an opportunity to sleuth out information online. So, we developed a clever digital strategy that allowed our audiences to do exactly that. 

Enter: The Subversive Score 

Traditional media wasn’t going to grab our targets' attention, so we gave our campaign an impossibly catchy, can't-get-it-out-of-your-head music track. Knowing Millennials would turn to Shazam to identify the song, we made it completely untraceable. As predicted, users flocked to social media for answers. We sat back and let the intrigue build as users traded clues on Reddit, messaged Lincoln executives on LinkedIn, and even made and shared their own extended versions of the song on YouTube. When demand finally reached a fever pitch, we entered the chat, dropping the full-length track and music video on streaming platforms. 

Once we had our new audience hooked, we kept them engaged with more music content and more opportunities for them to dive even deeper into our brand and their passions. The conversion around Lincoln began to shift. Suddenly, the 100-year-old luxury car maker was grabbing headlines and smashing sales goals (exceeding them by 49% year-over-year to be exact.) The average buying age also dropped significantly, proof that we had won over our cynical audience and sparked the interest of a new generation of luxury buyers.

Other Work