A few years ago, after the most widespread protests for racial justice in American history, Hyundai wanted to do more than just honor Black History Month during February. We wanted to make an ongoing impact and help affect change today.
We launched The Progress Project by Hyundai to celebrate Black History year-round and help ensure Black-owned businesses in the communities we call home continue to thrive. Like Montgomery, the home of Hyundai’s main U.S. manufacturing plant and first community where we activated The Progress Project by Hyundai in 2021. And Savannah, Georgia–the future site of Hyundai’s first dedicated electric vehicle plant in the U.S. and location we focused on for this year. We asked Hyundai Team Members and associates working in Savannah to nominate local Black-owned businesses that they felt were making an impact on the community. From there, we selected three final businesses to receive a grant of $15,000 each to put towards renovating and improving upon their businesses.
Our priority was two-fold: awareness of the people and companies highlighted through the Progress Project, and engagement with the content itself. This is why we intentionally linked out to the businesses’ websites and social channels, creating an introduction and spotlight to their individual journeys.
To tell this story, we filmed three docu-style video pieces highlighting each Black-owned business and their unique journeys. In the videos, we showcased the progress each business had made with the grant using before, during, and after footage of the renovation stages.
Starting in February, we posted the content across Hyundai-owned YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter channels. We also created unique TikTok videos for each candidate introducing them and revealing their transformations in a quick and entertaining style befitting of TikTok and Reels platforms.
For Hyundai, building a new plant in Savannah means investing in people, and the transformations experienced by the businesses proved how the ripple effect of this journey was able to impact the Savannah community at large.
Our goal based on our typical engagement was 200,000 views. We achieved 10x that benchmark, amassing over 2 million video views and more than 150,000 impressions. Our initial goals of both awareness and engagement were shattered with these numbers. The campaign content received countless shares and saves, the highest level action in social. Not to mention, the caliber of comments posted by our community proved the undeniable impact this creative had upon those it reached.
The campaign was felt in Savannah, too–getting the attention of dozens of press outlets, making headlines in local news, and even sparking new business opportunities for those businesses involved. The businesses are partnering up with each other now and forging new bonds, helping to continue strengthening the community.
