McLaren to use YouTube to fast-track BRIC expansion

McLaren is looking to bolster its footprint in the crucially important BRIC markets where high proportions of the population don’t speak English as a first or second language, by localising its branded content.

The automotive company hopes to use revenues generated by ads sold against its branded content, such as its animated series Tooned, to subsidise its further production as part of a deal it recently cut with YouTube.

McLaren hopes to use these content revenues to help further fund its marketing efforts in the fast-growing BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies, among others, where it is contemplating translating such content into local languages, rather than rely on its existing English language versions.

John Allert, McLaren’s brand director, says: “In high growth markets we can use this [McLaren’s YouTube channel] to lead how we market… A lot of people in these countries don’t have English as a second language and we don’t want to appear imperialist with a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.”

He also adds that such content channels can also be used as a vehicle to help spur the marketing efforts of the sponsors of its Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula One team.

“If we share insights with our sponsors like Mobil1, etc, we could be looking at something like a ‘1+1=3’ scenario,” adds Allert.

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