The e-car industry is booming, and the biggest manufacturers are competing for market positioning with self-driving concept vehicles and lots of technical sophistication.

Many people are watching this development with a mixture of interest, but they're also several uncertainties. Charging is a particular source of concern.

To help ŠKODA launch the ENYAQ iV, its first all-electric SUV, we needed to educate people about the car’s benefits and show them that its 40-minute charging time could feel shorter than they expected.

Our goals were to boost brand awareness, perceptions, and preference.

Our target audience: Adults 20 to 49 years old and with at least a secondary school leaving certificate. Our message would connect on two levels:

1. On a rational level, with EDUCATIONAL messages and facts about the car.

2. On an EMOTIONAL level, with ads designed to demonstrate how quick 40 minutes can feel.

For the educational elements, we would place rational, benefit-driven messages in serious environments like newspapers and website – designed to hold their attention.

To connect on an emotional level, we would make 40 minutes pass in more fun ways, with more playful distractions.

To achieve this, we would link the ENYAQ’s 40-minute charging time to moments that make people feel good.

Throughout, we would subtly link the time they spend doing these things to the time it takes to charge the car.

We would make 40 minutes audible, visible, and, consequently, tangible.

We used AUDIO and podcasts that were 40-minutes long.

At the beginning of each episode, a 30'' opener symbolised the start of the car charging process. At the end, listeners were told: "During the time you have been listening, your ENYAQ iV has been charged for you".

In print, we worked with car mag AutoBild, and news mag Wirtschaftswoche, using a loading bar at the bottom of each page, showing how charged the ENYAQ iV would be by the time you stopped reading.

Working with high-reach TV channels VOX and RTL, we integrated educational spots in the look-and-feel of the broadcasters, played between programmes and commercials.

We also created voice-activated banner ads on mobile. When users clicked, they activated the device’s microphone so users could ask questions about the ENYAQ.

ŠKODA became the first brand to lift the paywall on Handelsblatt ONLINE - just by clicking on the banner ads.

Our EDUCATIONAL and EMOTIONAL messages made 40 minutes fly by… and pushed people to buy the ŠKODA ENYAQ. Sales went up 43%!

Our messages reached millions people, boosting awareness and brand metrics:

• Awareness of the ŠKODA ENYAQ hit 33% (up +2%).

• Awareness of ŠKODA as an electro brand hit 4.8% (up from 3.9%).

And opinions of ŠKODA improved:

• Brand strength hit 28% (up from 26.3%).

• 21.5% of people associated ŠKODA with quality (up from 20.2%).

• Brand buzz increased to 8.2% (up from 7.2%).

This led to improved purchase intent:

• Purchase intent hit 6.6% (up from 5.4%).

• Consideration hit 17.9% (up from 17.2%).

But, most importantly, SALES went up:

• +28% during the first 4 months.

• +43% in the next 4 months.