Ally and Grey understand for a consumer, the process of buying a car can be stressful, so Ally focused instead on the most memorable and exciting part of owning a car: that “new car” smell. Ally broke through by engaging consumers’ noses with Ally’s New Car Smell fragrance collection. This fully integrated program included: The New Car Smell Fragrance counter, an iPad application, a microsite, and a gift giveaway.

The New Car Smell: Fragrance Collection

The fragrance collection consisted of (8) eight designer fragrances that each represented a different type of vehicle. Each fragrance featured designer packaging with humorous copy highlighting the finer points of owning your dream car.

Consumers who entered the Ally booth encountered a slick high-end perfume counter displaying the entire collection. An Ally brand ambassador walked consumers through the experience by matching the consumer with the fragrance that represented their dream car or current car.

Consumers visiting the Ally booth encountered a slick high-end perfume counter with a collection of 8 designer fragrances with packaging highlighting the finer points of the experience of owning your dream car. Consumers also had the chance to create their own virtual new car smell by selecting from a library of 40 scent descriptions, creating a name and sharing in their social channels. A group of consumers who participated online were given their actual scent as a surprise gift. The activation consisted of a fully integrated program that included The New Car Smell fragrance counter on site, an iPad application, a microsite and a surprise and delight gift giveaway.

Happy, engaged consumer onsite were the first sign of success. Media coverage was the second. Automotive News called is something completely different, and coverage was both specific to auto and featured broader reach including sites like fragrantica.com.

Emails sent from the App in Detroit: 150

Emails sent From the App in Philadelphia: 79

With little paid support from the beginning of January until March 8, 2016, the microsite achieved 2,356 visits from 1,521 visitors, with an average of over 4 minutes spent on the site designing a scent and engaging with the brand.

An incredible 50% of the scents created online were shared via social media.