MediaCom and Pennzoil® Hit the Road with Tim McGraw

NEW YORK, May 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The love of cars and music come together again, as MediaCom announces the second year of partnership between Pennzoil® and country music superstar Tim McGraw. MediaCom initially brought Pennzoil and Tim McGraw together to launch the brand's first music platform in 2012, delivering one of the most successful marketing campaigns in the motor oil brand's history.

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"One of the feelings I think you take away from my new album is the freedom you get out on the open road, and I really wanted to take my fans on a ride from the time the album starts to the very last track. The same goes for the tour," said Tim McGraw. "It just made sense to team up with Pennzoil again for another summer. They are great partners and I know they have a lot of stuff planned for the fans out on the road."

As part of the continued relationship, Pennzoil will be the presenting sponsor of McGraw's Two Lanes of Freedom 2013 summer tour and will leverage Tim as a brand ambassador across paid, owned and earned marketing channels. MediaCom, one of the world's largest media services agencies, led the talent deal and sponsorship negotiation, as well as the development of the music platform strategy and a number of custom media programs to bring the partnership to life.

"We've had tremendous success working with Tim McGraw, and this year, we're taking our partnership to the next level," said Aimee Cronfel, North American Pennzoil Marketing Manager. "By integrating Tim and Pennzoil in all marketing elements, we are bringing to life the mutual passion for music and cars."

Morgan Buksbaum, Vice President of MediaCom's Entertainment and Sports Partnerships (ESP) division, added, "We are working with VEVO to engage consumers harder by giving them a unique opportunity to be part of the music that they love." During the tour, fans will have a chance to be featured in a special edition live music fan video for one of Tim's new songs by submitting their favorite images/videos via social media.

As part of Pennzoil and Tim's shared love of cars, Pennzoil enlisted Tim McGraw to personally customize a new 2013 Challenger SRT^®. Tim drove the creative direction of the car, from the exterior paint inspired by the Two Lanes Of Freedom album art, down to the fine details of the interior including his autograph hand-stitched in the front seats.

This one-of-a-kind car will go on tour with Tim McGraw and will be on display at each tour stop, where fans can watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes video of the step-by-step customization process, both at the show and online. Fans will also have the chance to win this special-edition vehicle through the Four Wheels to Freedom promotion running May 1^st through July 31^st.

To stay up-to-date on the latest Pennzoil activities, for exclusive looks at Tim McGraw content and to enter in the Four Wheels to Freedom sweepstakes, visit pennzoil.com/timmcgraw. Be sure to 'Like' the official Pennzoil Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/Pennzoil) and follow Pennzoil on Twitter (www.twitter.com/Pennzoil). 

About MediaCom
MediaCom is one of the world's leading media communications specialists, with billings exceeding US $28 billion (Source: RECMA 2012). It employs 4,600 people in 113 offices across 89 countries around the globe. The company's strategy is driven by its "People first, better results" philosophy, which places people – consumers, clients and employees – at its core to generate optimum business results. The MediaCom family includes a number of industry-leading divisions, such as: MediaCom Entertainment & Sports Partnerships (ESP), our strategic consultancy specializing in helping brands engage consumers through their passion points; MediaCom Interaction, a global digital and interactive marketing agency, which uses future-forward proprietary technology to grow client businesses; direct response agency MediaCom Direct, which creates close, measured connections with consumers; branded content specialists MediaCom Beyond Advertising; sports sponsorship and strategy team MediaCom Sport; and MediaCom Business Science, which ensures clients achieve maximum sales return. MediaCom Worldwide is a member of WPP, the world's largest marketing communications services group, and part of GroupM, WPP's consolidated media investment management arm. For more information, visit www.mediacom.com. 

About GroupM
GroupM is the world's largest global media investment management operation, with total billings exceeding US $90 billion (Source: RECMA 2012). It serves as the parent company to WPP media agencies including MediaCom, Maxus, MEC, and Mindshare. Its primary purpose is to maximize the performance of WPP's media communications agencies on behalf of its clients, its shareholders and its people by operating as a parent and collaborator in performance-enhancing activities such as trading, content creation, sports, digital, finance, proprietary tool development and other business-critical capabilities. The agencies that comprise GroupM are all global operations in their own right with leading market positions. The focus of GroupM is the intelligent application of physical and intellectual scale to benefit trading, innovation, and new communication services, and to bring competitive advantage to its clients and companies. For more information, visit www.groupm.com.

About Pennzoil®
At Pennzoil®, we're car people.  We love cars and the role they play in our lives. Some of our most cherished memories are made possible by cars. That's why we tirelessly pursue the latest advances in oil technology - to provide car lovers just like us with state-of-the-art motor oils. At Pennzoil, motor oil is our passion, but cars are our way of life. Not just oil. Pennzoil. 

Pennzoil® is the most trusted motor oil brand in America.* Each Pennzoil motor oil is formulated with special Active Cleansing Agents™ that not only help prevent sludge, but also clean out existing sludge.  The full line of Pennzoil quality products includes Pennzoil Ultra™ motor oil with Hyper Cleansing Technology™, Pennzoil Platinum® Full Synthetic motor oil, Pennzoil® motor oil, Pennzoil Gold™ motor oil, Pennzoil® High Mileage Vehicle® motor oil, and Pennzoil Marine® engine oil. For more information about Pennzoil products, please visit www.pennzoil.com. 

* Based on a survey of licensed drivers conducted by a leading research firm January 2005 – December 2011.

About Tim McGraw
McGraw's latest album, TWO LANES OF FREEDOM, debuted at No. one on the Billboard Country Albums chart, marking his 14th career No. one debut.  Since the release of his first album in 1993, McGraw has sold over 40 million albums, dominated the charts with 33 No. one singles, won three GRAMMY's, 14 ACM Awards, 12 CMA Awards and 10 AMA's, while simultaneously maintaining a parallel career as a successful actor in such films as the Oscar-nominated The Blind Side, Country Strong, and Friday Night Lights—as well as hosting Saturday Night Live, a rare honor for a singer in any genre.  Nielsen-BDS recently certified McGraw as the most-played Country artist of the past 20 years (1992-2012) with more than 10 million spins detected, and Mediabase recognized him as the most-played Country artist in the history of their tracking service.  McGraw will launch his TWO LANES OF FREEDOM 2013 TOUR, presented by Pennzoil, in Birmingham, AL on May 2 and continue on to 30 cities through July.  The U.S. trek will also feature emerging artists Brantley Gilbert and Love and Theft.  On Sunday, May 19 the two-hour special ACM PRESENTS: TIM McGRAW'S SUPERSTAR SUMMER NIGHT is set to air on CBS Television Network.

SOURCE MediaCom