New Hyundai Sant Fe delivers up a ‘Storm’ for London Fashion Week

Hyundai has delivered a fleet of new Santa Fe’s to Storm Model Management to ferry models round the shows at London Fashion Week AW13.

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We often wonder how car makers decide which placements give them the best return for their investment. Is there a little man in a cupboard with an abacus working out ROI? Does senior management pick projects close to their hearts? Or does the gender of the PR team have an influence?

We have no doubt that whatever the influences are that dictate product placement, a high profile and a ’cause’ that promotes the brand in a good light are top of the ‘must have’ list. But if you can meet those criteria and still have a placement that’s fun, then why not?

So maybe the overwhelmingly female makeup of Hyundai’s UK PR team has influenced not only plonking their cars in Harrods window (here and here), but their latest placement too – a fleet of new Hyundai Santa Fes for Storm Model Management to ferry their models round London Fashion Week AW13?

Of course, the fact that the new Hyundai Santa Fe boasts a design language Hyundai call ‘Storm Edge’ probably has something to do with the placement, as does the fact that high-profile names in the fashion world, like  Lily Donaldson, will be plonking their trim derrières in the Santa Fes.

Simon Chambers, Storm Models’ MD, said:

The cars look stunning. They’re spacious and luxurious, making them the ideal transport for whisking our girls to all of the London Fashion Week shows.

Hyundai are also partnering with Storm in a new talent competition to find the new faces of Storm Models. The Hyundai Santa Fe is featuring in the campaign, where aspiring models – male and female – can upload their info through a dedicated Facebook App with a chance to win a Storm contract and the whole process will be hosted on Storm’s website and YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr.

2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Photos >>

Tony Whitehorn, Hyundai’s UK boss, said:

We’re delighted to partner with Storm on this new digital initiative. Hyundai’s focus is on creating engaging customer experiences; #IAMSTORM offers us a unique opportunity to reach a new demographic and build awareness of the Hyundai brand across social media channels.

So, a nice little mutual love-in, with nice benefits for one and all.

And it does make us wonder if we change our name to ‘Storm Cars UK’  we could get Hyundai to send us a fleet of Santa Fes to ferry us around?