Subaru, Hyundai take it to the streets at Subinats, World Time Attack Challenge

It’s marketing at its simplest; get your products in front of the right people, and in front of as many of those people as you can.

Bums on seats, peering through the glass, kicking the tyres… getting the buyer into line of sight of a car is, after all these years, still as crucial as ever.

The modern automotive landscape, however, isn’t as conducive to automotive window shopping as it once was.

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Thanks to a variety of factors, the modern car showroom is – despite the beautiful architecture and fancy coffee pod machines – pretty low on most people’s lists of places to hang out on a Saturday.

The digital realm, too, is saturated to distraction, while more traditional selling tools like television and outside media are facing their own challenges.

It’s for these reasons that Hyundai and Subaru have gone back to the people, as it were, and rolled out activations at recent grassroots automotive events that wouldn’t normally be the purview of established auto brands.

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Hyundai and the Ioniq 5 N

The World Time Attack Challenge – held annually at Sydney Motorsport Park – has taken the concept and turned it into what one industry insider calls ‘motortainment’.

The premise is pretty simple; build a fast car and prove, over one lap, that you’re faster than everyone else.

More than 35,000 people visited the venue over two long, packed days, and more than four million people around the globe tuned into the YouTube livestream.

No matter how you slice it, they are solid numbers.

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But it’s definitely an audience that veers towards ‘enthusiast’… or, in other words, there’s a danger that you’re merely preaching to the choir by spending your marketing dollar there.

Hyundai, though, thought differently. After a toe-in-the-water exercise a few years ago, it descended on the event in force, entirely taking over the southern circuit facility as it worked its plan to promote the upcoming Ioniq 5 N electric hatch.

It even managed to secure the services of Japanese race driver and automotive cultural icon Keiichi Tsuchiya to drive a prototype Ioniq 5 on track.

How did they manage to land the man that many credit with being the Drift King? "We just rang him," laughed a Hyundai insider.

When asked what made WTAC attractive from a marketing point of view, Bill Thomas, Hyundai Australia’s general manager corporate Affairs, was unequivocal.

“Both the event itself, which is always spectacular and well-attended, and the audience at the track and watching on screens – in Australia and around the world,” he told Wheels.

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“Hyundai’s focus this year was on our new electrified hero car, Ioniq 5 N, and the N brand in general, showcasing N to an audience that blended Korean, Australian and Japanese performance car cultures.”

Thomas said it was a “fantastic opportunity” to further expose the N brand - and more specifically, the Ioniq 5 N - to a more specialist market.

He also suggested the success of the Ioniq 5 N pre-sale push – which sold 126 cars at $111,000 each in just 12 hours – could be partly attributed to the event.

“We know a number of people who attended WTAC were among those first customers,” he said, “and more broadly it gave us significant exposure for N to a precious audience of switched-on enthusiasts.”

“Hyundai has been a very forward-thinking company and particularly with the N brand has been able to culture a likeminded track day community through their N festivals,” Ian Baker, the director of World Time Attack Challenge, told Wheels.

“WTAC is obviously a natural progression to showcase its latest track-focused vehicles to existing and future clients, and in fact to a worldwide audience of over four million viewers via our livestream.”

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Subi's day in the dirt

Very similar in its execution but on a smaller scale, Subaru’s support of the grassroots-led SubiNats event at the same venue just a couple of weeks later echoed Hyundai’s sentiments; preaching directly to the choir can be a great way to get bums on newer, more interesting seats.

“Our partnership with SubiNats, which dates back to its inception in 2014, blossomed organically from a mutual passion to the Subaru brand,” said Subaru Australia’s National Corporate Affairs and Public Relations Manager, Chloe Fraser.

“SubiNats is the biggest Subaru event in the country and serves as an invaluable opportunity for us to connect with our passionate owners, fans and enthusiasts, hear their stories and learn more about their connection with the brand, and importantly, create new memories together.”

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Subaru’s activation comprised its truly impressive heritage fleet – including the legendary Impreza 22B – as well as an event that saw the brand’s SUVs tackle a tough section of SMSP’s 4x4 training track with prospective punters on board.

As well, it showed off two concepts, the Crosstrek Boost Gear and the BRZ tS. But it’s not all about pushing new metal, believes Fraser.

“While the event serves as a platform for showcasing new models, new technology and honouring our storied history, it’s much more than that,” she said.

“SubiNats is one of the most special events marked in our calendar, and we look forward to continuing our partnership for many more years to come.”