Jonathan Fowler says his musical talents as a bluegrass guitarist didn’t get him past open-mic night. But Fowler’s passion for music is helping make a name for his family’s new Volkswagen dealership in Norman, Okla.

Less than two years after opening in a shuttered Mitsubishi facility, Fowler Volkswagen makes the most of a shoestring marketing budget by leveraging Fowler’s connections in the local music community. In the hip college town, home of the University of Oklahoma, the dealership’s support of the burgeoning arts scene resonates with consumers.

“We learned very quickly: If you connect with your consumer on an emotional level in the areas they want to be connected with and don’t try to sell them a car while doing it, they’ll remember you when it’s time to come and buy a car,” says Fowler, the store’s 29-year-old general manager. “We really try and just keep our name out there in the areas where our customers are going to be on their Saturday and Friday nights.”

One notable effort is the Norman Music Festival, a free indie music event that attracted 50,000 people and 180 bands in 2011. Fowler helped found the event in 2008 and talked managers of his family’s Toyota and Honda dealerships into becoming headline sponsors.