Yahoo and Pontiac launched the Pontiac Underground, a new online destination that combines Yahoo’s key social media assets, consumer-generated Pontiac content from across the Web and direct communications from Pontiac.
Features of the site at www.pontiacunderground.com include:
— Videos and photos: extensive galleries of user-submitted Pontiac multimedia, leveraging Yahoo Video and Flickr
— Pontiac Informer: the latest news, links and information from Pontiac enthusiasts across the Web, submitted and rated by users as well as pulled from del.icio.us
— Knowledge sharing: get answers and share Pontiac-related knowledge via Yahoo Answers
— Offline connections: find a Pontiac club with Club Link, or a local event with Event Finder
– Pontiac’s “Inside Track” blog: the brand’s official blog that will provide exclusive news, images and communications directly from Pontiac
“Yahoo’s mission is to connect people with their passions, their communities and the world’s knowledge,” a Yahoo representative said. “Pontiac Underground, a collaborative project with Pontiac, is an example of how a marketer can leverage Yahoo’s social media tools to create an open dialogue directly with its consumers.”
Pontiac Underground combines some of Yahoo’s leading social media content including Flickr photos, Yahoo Answers, Yahoo Video and Yahoo Groups with consumer-created Pontiac content from hundreds of Pontiac fan communities throughout the Web.
A recent Yahoo Autos survey conducted by J.D. Powers & Associates showed that users accept a manufacturer’s role in consumer-generated content. More than 70 percent of consumer-generated content users responded that they felt it’s appropriate for manufacturers to contribute and/or communicate on consumer-generated content sites.
The same study also found that automotive Internet users are not only accessing consumer-generated content more often, but they are also open to manufacturers contributing. According to the study, 94 percent of automotive Internet users agree that consumer-generated content is an important part of the vehicle shopping process.
“The site provides an aggregated view of the online conversation happening about the Pontiac brand and gives enthusiasts the ability to participate in the dialogue by uploading, commenting and voting on content,” the Yahoo executive said.
