Chrysler Puts Its PT Cruiser 'In the House'

To woo highly-coveted younger consumers to its "crossover" PT Cruiser, Chrysler launched PT Studios, a grass roots effort to build buzz among 25-34 year-olds about the PT Turbo, bowing this month.

The seven-month long effort puts the vehicles front and center at 60 film, fashion, music, art and other hot events in six cities including Los Angeles, New York and Austin, Texas, through next March.

Event marketing agency Fusion 5 is identifying local programs and the non-profit performing arts organization GenArt, which supports young talent, is producing.

The series in each market will be book-ended by invitation-only launch and closing events, such as a high-profile shindig on Sept. 12 in Los Angeles, which kicks off PT Studios. "You can get lost in the shuffle . . . we want to generate leads for our dealers where possible," said Lou Bitonti, marketing manager at Chrysler. "But the predominant thing is to create buzz and get the vehicles on-site at areas where we know folks that age will be visiting," he said. And of course Chrysler "ambassadors" will be on hand at events for anyone who wants to view or test drive the vehicle.

Sony Music, Tower Records and audio marketer Infinity will co-promote. A mini-site, via Organic, N.Y. (www.ptstudios.chrysler.com), launches this week, featuring online registration for the events, a calendar and video mixer allowing visitors to design their own PT Turbo video.