An ‘Unagency’ for the ‘Uncar’

Smart went an unorthodox route in putting together a campaign to introduce its cars to the U.S.

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For the first national American marketing campaign for the tiny Smart Car, Tracey Matura decided to do something a bit different.

Rather than give the relatively small assignment to a single agency, the general manager of Smart USA pooled staffers from three shops already working on sister brand Mercedes-Benz. Merkley + Partners was tasked with traditional ads, Razorfish with digital, and Sage Collective with events.

It was a bold move. Smart has a long way to go, and it’s a key part of Mercedes-Benz USA’s strategy, if only because it’s essential to the company’s efforts to meet new federal miles-per-gallon standards for its entire fleet.

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