The North American International Auto Show last January saw record-breaking hits on its official social media channels during the two-day media preview and has plans to surpass those efforts in 2015.
The official Twitter hashtag, #NAIAS, trended organically for 15 hours during the two-day press review, peaking at the No. 1 spot for 10 hours. In addition, the channel saw nearly 541 million impressions and drew 4,800 new followers.
The fact that social media sites — including Vine, Instagram, and Facebook — allow users to share their experiences in real-time is vital for the show’s press preview, says Mark Russell, president of Farmington Hills-based Embark Digital, which served as a social media partner for the event.
“It literally amplifies what the media attendees are experiencing,” Russell says. “Journalists are responsible for being leading sources of news and information on the reveals and announcements made during press preview. The competitive environment makes instantaneous reporting and sharing necessary and exciting.”
Beyond Twitter, the NAIAS Facebook page added 2,500 new likes during the week of the auto show. Likewise, the more than 25 videos of car reveals and related interviews produced by Embark resulted in more than 170,300 views.
The social media program was one of the items highlighted during a planning meeting held Wednesday and attended by more than 300 representatives of exhibitors, manufacturers, sponsors, and vendors, participating in the upcoming show, to be held at Cobo Center in Detroit.
“This is the first meeting where we all get together in the same room and focus on the next Detroit show, although planning has long been under way since well before the last show ended,” says Scott LaRiche, chairman of the auto show. “Since January and the remarkable NAIAS 2014, we’ve visited with many of these people at shows in Geneva and Beijing, and know from our discussions that NAIAS 2015 will be another spectacular event reserved for global news announced on Detroit’s ‘world stage.’”
Also new to the 2015 event is the relocation of the Michelin Media Center into the new 40,000-square-foot Grand Riverview Ballroom and several anticipated improvements to be made in the meantime at the Cobo Center. These include new external video announcement boards at the Congress and Washington street entrances, meeting rooms for exhibitors and sponsors, and new carpeting in the Cobo Concourse.
The official dates for the NAIAS 2015 are: Press Preview, Jan. 12-13; Industry Preview, Jan. 14-15; Charity Preview, Jan. 16; and Public Show, Jan. 17-25.
