When Mercedes-Benz asked Critical Mass to develop an online awareness-building campaign to promote the launch of the new C-Class, we knew we would face a sizeable challenge. After all, the pre-launch campaign would have no offline counterpart. Mercedes-Benz was entrusting us to generate awareness and qualified leads solely through the web. As well, we needed to reach a new, younger target audience without diminishing the heritage of the brand. The New C site was unveiled in three phases; each designed to communicate different aspects of the overall branding message. Registered users received email updates as each new phase was posted. The "Inspiration" phase gave them their first glimpse of the New C's exterior design features. In the "Wisdom" phase, users gained access to detailed information about the car's design, performance and safety features, and they were able to "C-mail" New C digital postcards to friends. Finally, the "Achievement" phases treated users to competitive comparisons, third-party reviews, a Build Your Own feature, video footage, an exclusive C-Class Chat, and "Cinema C", which let users create and send C-Clas movies. Critical Mass designed the microsite to reflect the distinctive design features of the New C itself (the headlamps, for example), and its lifestyles focus was crafted to appeal to the primary target audience: younger, affluent urban professionals looking for a vehicle that offers sportiness, performance and value. The overall mood of the site is "aspirational", challenging the audience to expect more from life - and from their vehicles.