But attracting women to these events is sometimes difficult: According to the marketing pros, there has to be a relationship hook to get women to these events. Cars alone are not sufficient. And Mercedes-Benz, of all the luxury brands, has, in my opinion, the best hook of all – Fashion!

As the official sponsor of all three of the biggest and most important fashion shows in America – New York, Miami and Los Angeles – and several in Europe including Berlin’s prestigious Fashion Week, Mercedes has the runway literally to itself. That is, the fashionista trifecta. 

But even the tri-star brand tops itself. How? It has tied its connection to Fashion Week into a major promotional relationship and product placement with the new Mew Line Cinema movie, Sex and the City, which is based on the recently-ended HBO hit homage to fashion. The new movie, which opens May 30, 2008, will be a must see for millions.  

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York (http://www.mbfashionweek.com), the first of the big four, launched last Friday and continues on for eight days of non-stop shows. Under a gigantic New York style tent, major names in fashion, hopefuls and the up-and-coming are parading their latest and greatest down the runway.

For Mercedes-Benz’ part, Sex and the City stars Sarah Jessica Parker as "Carrie Bradshaw," Kim Cattrall as "Samantha Jones," Kristin Davis as "Charlotte York-Goldenblatt," and Cynthia Nixon as "Miranda Hobbes" are taking part in the cat walk as well. Each of the finely clad divas on Friday visited the exclusive VIP Mercedes-Benz Star Lounge to watch special videos and view the Mercedes-Benz vehicles on display in the grand entry way.

Joining Mercedes and the film company is Patricia Field – the person responsible for the trend-setting Sex and the City fashions. Field is considered one of fashion’s greatest visionaries. She is an award-winning film and television costume designer with her own clothing label and a cutting-edge boutique.

With the help of Patricia Field’s costumes, the Sex and the City TV series is considered by many to be the most fashionable show in television history and that contributed in large part to cementing the show’s status as a cultural phenomenon.

As Fashion Week ticket holders scramble amid the organized chaos this week in Bryant Park, they are sure to pass by the video exhibits and Mercedes-Benz car displays. The fashion paparazzi will defiantly be there and one must assume the Mercedes-Benz logo has been appropriately placed for maximum exposure in photographs. 

In front of each video display is the all-new GLK SUV, which is driven in the new Sex and the City movie by the stylish and sultry Kim Cattrall, who ably assisted Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler, at the Detroit Auto Show debut in January. There’s also an S-Class sedan, in which sits Chris Noth, again reprising his role as "Mr. Big.”

“Beyond the film integration, Mercedes-Benz and New Line Cinema are poised to make a big Sex and the City style splash with a multi-tiered partnership that will span the globe, including a multi-channel marketing campaign consisting of advertising, PR, events and new media,” noted Stephen Cannon, Mercedes-Benz vice president of marketing.
           
Automobile tie-ins to movies for product placements have been going on practically since the dawn of movie making. Most recently, there’s the James Bond Aston Martin, Steve McQueen’s iconic Mustang, Jerry Bruckheimer’s film National Treasure starring Nicholas Cage among others. After the initial pitch to the auto media and maybe a splash to the celebrity magazine publishers, the cars seem to vanish and the actors remain in the minds of consumers.

By tapping into Fashion Week, in fact sponsoring it, combined with integration in the Sex and the City movie and the involvement of its outstanding cast of super stars, Mercedes-Benz has made fashion driven relationship marketing a viable marketing tool.