Algo está pasando en Mercedes
Briefing
Mercedes-Benz was celebrating 125 years and had a target problem. Their 50+ customers were loyal, satisfied repeat buyers. But younger audiences —liberal, progressive, digitally active professionals— saw the brand as stale. Old. Nouveau riche. For boring people. BMW was stealing their youth with sportiness; Audi with understatement. Campaigns came from Germany and didn’t resonate in Spain. Mercedes needed to stop being their father’s car.
Idea
We couldn’t deny 125 years of history. But we could make people wonder whether Mercedes had truly changed. We took the target’s prejudices —“classic”, “for my dad”, “ministers’ cars”— put them in the mouths of real characters in everyday conversations, and deliberately left the story unfinished. The mystery wasn’t about the car. It was about the brand. #AlgoEstáPasandoEnMercedes
Execution
Three TV spots with incomplete human stories that pushed viewers to Algoeestapasandoenmercedes.com, an interactive online magazine in HTML5 featuring trends in fashion, design, technology and culture. Monthly refreshed content, ad hoc interactive layers per model, dedicated Twitter account and segmented blog. Mercedes didn’t say it had changed. It proved it by placing itself at the forefront of the avant-garde without losing its signature elegance.
Scope
Television, outdoor, radio, trend magazines, online video (25M impressions), interactive website, social media and brand events. Continuity strategy with waves combining image and product campaigns. Internal actions to align the sales network with the new positioning.
Fase 1 | The Beginning
Fase 2 | New Targets
Fase 3 | Inside the Dealership
The Platform
Results
Awareness among the young target grew by 22% on average. In Q1 2012, Mercedes grew 11.9% while the overall automotive market declined 1.9%. Web traffic increased 350% compared to product-only campaigns, and the campaign was 60% more notable than the average, with an awareness carryover of 80% versus the 65% benchmark. All of this was achieved with 8% less investment than 2010 and a 52% reduction in TV positioning costs. The brand entered the Top Ten in total market awareness repeatedly throughout 2011 and climbed four positions in the advertising awareness ranking.