HOLDEN Special Vehicles (HSV) says it will target sportscar enthusiasts in the six-week marketing campaign that started this week for its re-manufactured Chevrolet Camaro – the company’s first V8 performance car since its Commodore-based models.

HSV began converting the iconic Camaro from left-to right-hand drive late last month, with about 75 per cent of the 550 examples of the model year 2018 2SS variant allocated to Australia and New Zealand pre-sold through the HSV dealer network.

Speaking to GoAutoNews Premium at the Camaro 2SS media launch in Clayton South, Victoria, HSV general manager of marketing Damon Paull explained that the marketing campaign aims to spread the message that the American muscle car is finally here.

“We’re not here for just one hit,” he said. “MY18 is the start of what we hope is something really big.

“It’s about building the awareness that the Chevrolet Camaro is in Australia, it’s fully compliant and HSV is the company bringing it to market.

“Building some enthusiasm for the product is probably the objective.”

In order to create interest in the MY18 Camaro 2SS conversion program that was announced on December 8 last year, HSV immediately started taking expressions of interest, with potential buyers signing up to the company’s new bi-weekly e-newsletter, HSV Insider.

More than 12,000 people subscribed to HSV Insider, 7000 of which said they wanted to specifically know more about Camaro, with details about the MY18 2SS’ specifications, and the model’s history and design evolution, communicated over the course of this year.

Social media was also used as a communications platform in the lead up to the MY18 Camaro 2SS’ launch, creating a database of potential customers.

This media channel continues to be used after the start of production, with interviews with key technical staff and a video overview of the re-manufacturing process to be shared across various platforms.

The MY18 Camaro 2SS marketing campaign also uses digital outdoor and radio as media channels, with HSV collaborating with creative agency Jayworks Partnership and media agency Hotglue, both of which are based in Melbourne.

The digital outdoor component is rolling out across 70 metropolitan sites, and focuses on the distinctive styling of the MY18 Camaro 2SS and using the slogan ‘sophisticated muscle’, among others.

Thanks to the digitisation of the billboards used, the colour of the advertised vehicle can change from black to red, and vice-versa, depending on the time of day.

The radio element can be heard on the Triple M network and select talk-back stations, with the company hoping to engage with potential sportscar buyers that may not be aware that the Camaro is now available Down Under.

While each ad features its own unique twist, all of them highlight one piece of audio that HSV believes will resonate with sportscar enthusiasts: the MY18 Camaro 2SS’ exhaust note.

Priced from $85,990 before on-road costs, the MY18 Camaro 2SS is motivated by a 6.2-litre LT1 naturally aspirated V8 petrol engine that produces 339kW of power at 6000rpm and 617Nm of torque at 4600rpm.

By Justin Hilliard