The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2021
Hyundai built its own surf competition, Electric Air, instead of sponsoring one — D&AD
Instead of sponsoring an existing event, Hyundai created its own surf competition, Electric Air, and rode it into Australian surfing culture.
Hyundai Motor Company
What it had to solve
Hyundai wanted a real place in surfing culture. Sponsoring an existing surf competition would have made the brand just another logo vying for exposure, so instead it chose to create a competition of its own.
How it works
Rather than sponsor a surf competition, as other brands had done, Hyundai created one of its own. The brief was to belong to surfing culture instead of buying logo space inside it, so Hyundai built Electric Air, a competition in a new format that pushed the boundaries of the sport.
The event was staged as the brand's own competition, and the key test was how surfers saw it. They did not treat Electric Air as just another logo vying for exposure; they saw an opportunity to fly high and have some fun, which is what made the brand's entry into the culture work.
The result, as the campaign is described, is that Electric Air became widely considered one of the most innovative surf competitions ever held in Australia, reaching seven million Australians, and Hyundai instantly became part of surfing culture. D&AD later archived the work in its awards.
Why it lands
- Owning the event let Hyundai define a format the sport had never seen, instead of renting space in someone else's.
- Surfers responded to the chance to perform, not to a sponsor's logo, so the brand entered the culture on the community's terms.
- Reaching seven million Australians from a single owned property gave the brand a cultural foothold no sponsorship slot could buy.
What it did
Electric Air is now widely considered one of the most innovative surf competitions ever held in Australia and reached seven million Australians; the brand instantly became part of surfing culture, and D&AD archived the work in its awards.
What you can take
If the culture you want rejects sponsor logos, change what you buy: own the event and invent a format the community actually wants, and the brand enters as a contributor rather than an advertiser.
Since then
Electric Air launched in Australia in May 2021 as a surf exhibition and went on to be described as one of the most innovative surf competitions ever held in the country, with D&AD keeping the work in its awards archive; the campaign showed that a brand can join a sport by staging an event the community wants rather than renting a logo spot.
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