Audi playing games with A1

The marketing strategy for Audi's all-new A1 compact car is simple: make it engaging and keep it trendy.

Take the new Audi A1 iPhone app for example; Audi will use its game -- a free download for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch users -- to promote the new car to a wider (and younger) range of buyers in its attempt to usurp MINI as the market leader in the compact luxury car segment.

The game is called Audi A1 Beat Driver and tasks players to drive the compact German car through a psychedelic 3D world "that pulsates to the beat of the music". You basically drive the new Audi through the inside of an up-beat, high tempo song.

With nine different songs, each tune no doubt carefully selected to appeal to specific types of hip and young go-getters, players must "collect objects and avoid obstacles while driving," and it all takes just one finger to steer the A1.

The song list is as follows:

"Accelerate" by Torpedo
"I’m A Rope" by Tommy Sparks
"Strength In Numbers" by The Music
"Farewell To The Fairground" by White Lies
"Gold Guns Girls" by Metric
"1989" by The Rakes
"Bulletproof" by La Roux
"Digital Age" by The Fall
"Want U" by Lo-Fi-Fnk

By making the game free, Audi hopes to reach a wide audience with the new application, which includes an international 'Audi A1 Beat Driver' high score list. And if you become obsessed with the game you can send your top times to mates via Facebook or Twitter.

And in the fine print there is also something about "an option for subscribing to a newsletter with the latest news and information about the new Audi A1."

Watch out MINI, the A1 is coming!

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