Success for Test Drive 2.0 required a smart media strategy that would place the video in the hands of the right consumers, giving them the capability to promote and share it. There were three pillars to our strategy: see, seek and share.

To be seen, we leveraged credible video distribution partners like mecca YouTube and the influential and edgy Funny or Die to get our content front and center.

For active, lean-forward fans searching out content experiences, we used targeted SEM to deliver an awesome experience.

Last, we turned to social partners Facebook and Twitter to ensure our content was at the top of social feeds, readily consumable and easily shareable. These little media ‘nudges’ were deployed and monitored closely, waiting for the fans to take it from there. Test Drive 2.0 needed only TWO DAYS of active paid-media before it took off faster than a Jeff Gordon racecar!

MASS REACH AND EFFECTIVE INVESTMENT: With a combined view-count of nearly 60MM YouTube views, this effort was a resounding success and an earned media dream. Only 9% of views came from paid media!

CONSUMER AFFINITY: Test Drive wasn’t just ‘viral.’ People LIKED it! 84% of Twitter posts had positive sentiment and the video has yielded over 2.4M shares online – 1M more than the Red Bull Stratos Jump.

IMPACTFUL BRANDING: The brand hasn’t gotten lost in the content either. #PepsiMax was mentioned in Tweets almost as much as the hashtag #GordonTestDrive.