SNS Activation Case Studies: How Three Korean Automakers Use Spectator Flow When Placing New Cars on the Course at Sporting Events

When placing new cars at a sporting event, Korean automakers follow a pattern: instead of arranging them as in a showroom, they place them to match the paths spectators walk. This lets them naturally show new cars to people who came to watch the tournament and were not looking for one. The events held by Genesis, BMW, and Lexus were all designed around spectator flow and the highlights of the tournament.

We call activation that is designed to include the stage where the experience gets talked about on social media "SNS activation." The overall approach is summarized in What Is SNS Activation. The source for this article reports on the design of the events themselves and does not mention reactions on social media. For that reason, we only read the design side here: where the touchpoints are that spectators experience and want to talk about.

How Is Showing New Cars at a Tournament Different from a Showroom?

According to the source article, people who come to a showroom are there to buy or compare. People who come to a golf tournament, on the other hand, are there to watch. The tournament gathers people with purchasing power and a strong interest in sports, travel, and leisure, and by placing new cars alongside the act of spectating, the cars can be shown naturally even to people who were not looking for one.

Another difference is in how the cars are explained. The article says the emphasis is on a format that combines test drives, lounges, and spectating to let people experience the brand, rather than the conventional approach of conveying performance and price in words. The main aims are described as raising brand awareness, securing prospective customers, and creating a reason to visit a showroom, rather than selling on site at the tournament.

In other words, the tournament is designed not as a "place to sell" but as a place that creates "a reason to go to the showroom next."

How Did Genesis Connect Display, Test Drives, and the Lounge?

At the Cheonan tournament, Genesis displayed a total of 9 cars, including a new hybrid model. It also displayed a hypercar not yet on sale and offered test drives to people who applied in advance. In addition, it set up a "suite" near the 18th hole and an owners-only "customer lounge." According to the article, attendance exceeded 30,000.

What stands out is that it did not stop at display, but added participation conditions: "advance registration" and "owners only." On top of a display anyone can see, it created tiers: only those who applied can ride, and only owners can enter. This produces both "people who are treated specially" and "people who watch them" within the venue. Material worth talking about tends to arise from this difference.

Where on the Course Did BMW Place Its Cars?

At the Haenam tournament, BMW unveiled a new 7 Series and a new SUV for the first time in Korea. It also placed several other models on the course. The article explains that the 7 Series was placed at the 13th and 18th holes and another new model at the 1st and 15th, positioned to match spectator movement routes. Attendance over the four days was 40,171.

The core of the design here is that the same model is placed at multiple points. If spectators walk the course, they are bound to encounter the car somewhere. Rather than "going to see" it as in a showroom, they "come across" it while walking, so even a car they are seeing for the first time meets less resistance. By choosing where those encounters happen, the news of a Korean debut also becomes something spectators can easily share with others on the spot.

How Is Lexus Using Prizes and the Lounge?

At the tournament on Yeongjongdo in Incheon, Lexus is introduced as planning to display several models, including a new model just launched in Korea. New cars are offered as hole-in-one prizes at the 9th and 17th holes, and a different model is displayed at the 3rd and 8th holes. An owners-only lounge is also provided.

The distinctive feature of this case is that the prizes are used as "exhibits." Cars are tied to the tournament's highlight, the hole-in-one. While watching the competition, spectators see the car as something they could win "if the ball goes in." Because the display and the story of the competition overlap in the same place, the placement is easy to remember without adding any explanation of the car. Note that, as of the article, this tournament had not yet taken place, so no results are reported.

What Should You Decide First When Applying This in Japan?

When placing a brand experience at a tournament or event, it helps to decide the following at the planning stage.

1. What are the people coming to the venue there for (spectating, viewing, shopping, leisure, etc.)?
2. Along the routes they walk, where are they most likely to stop?
3. How will you separate what anyone can see from what only registered participants or invited guests can experience?
4. Where will you connect the highlights of the tournament or venue with what you place?
5. Rather than on-the-day sales, what "next action" (store visit, inquiry, return visit) will you aim for?

For example, when exhibiting at a music festival, place the experience where waiting time arises in the flow of people from the entrance to each stage. When sponsoring a sports event at a commercial facility, place something people can try near the highlights of the competition. In both cases, the idea is not to draw in new people, but to match the movements of people who are already there. For the differences among initiatives that take place by borrowing the venue itself, see Three Exhibitions in Someone Else's Venue.

Scope of This Article

This article is based solely on what is written in a single published article. That article reports on the design of the tournaments and does not include reactions on social media, post-visit behavior, or each company's costs and structure. In addition, each company's aims are based on the article's explanation and do not assert results.

Conclusion

Showrooms are not the only place to put a new car. By placing it according to people's movement and the story of the venue, such as the paths spectators walk, the holes that serve as highlights, and a lounge only registered guests can enter, the experience becomes easier to talk about. The next time you appear at an event, start from the movement of the people who will be there before deciding what to place.