Mazda’s 2011 TV and press campaign would concentrate on the Mazda brand more than the individual models, in an effort to increase familiarity and engagement with the brand and the ‘Zoom Zoom’ brand essence. In support of this, we were tasked with engaging and inspiring Mazda’s workforce and network of dealers, using the public campaign’s storytelling approach to explain how the philosophy of Zoom Zoom is a quest that never ends – Mazda are always looking for ways to challenge convention and make things better.

A short, animated movie gave us the perfect palette on which to celebrate Mazda’s journey from humble beginnings through to present day. By using the analogy of an epic quest, a conceptual theme was established that tied together the disparate elements of Mazda’s history. Mazda’s heritage inspired the Japanese calligraphy style we used, letting the pen and ink run wild as a kinetic storytelling device.To combat the issues posed by the dual audience we created 2 versions of the movie with bespoke sections to address dealers and staff.

As this was an internal presentation there were no specific metrics, but standing ovations were reported following the movie’s showing in staff presentation sessions. We received glowing praise from senior Mazda management, who were so impressed that they now intend to roll the movie out across all their European markets.