Nissan wanted to launch the first 100% electric car (The Nissan LEAF) into Australia. Problem was, most Australians had no idea that the electric car was a reality. They thought it was just a thing of the future. We needed to create an awareness campaign, generating public discussion and content sharing around electric cars and the future of petrol, placing Nissan at the forefront of the innovation.

We began by posing a simple, thought-provoking question: “In a world without petrol, what do we do with the pumps?”

RESULTS (within one week).

• Over 12 million people viewed via Facebook sharing.

• Over 100 pieces of editorial generated in non-motoring media.

• 100% of coverage included brand mentions (90% included imagery).

• Over 17 million impressions via online media stories.

• A 4 minute feature and interview with Nissan Australia’s CEO about electric cars, on Australia’s primetime news conversation show, The Project.

• Invited to exhibit the recycled pumps at the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia’s largest public art museum.

• Nissan was later voted in the Top 30 Most Innovative Companies in Australia by BRW Magazine. The Nissan LEAF campaign and strategy was cited as the primary reason.

Answering the question: “In a world without petrol, what do we do with the pumps?”, we took over 40 used petrol pumps and dreamt up ways we could turn them into something more useful. We then teamed up with a famous Australian installation artist and a team of craftsman to bring these ideas to life — creating fun, interactive, everyday items such as fish tanks, gumball dispensers, disco balls, Pacman games and much more.

We invited the public to play with them, at large interactive outdoor exhibitions in Melbourne and Sydney.

Every exhibition piece used near-field technology linking to more Nissan LEAF features online. The campaign had heavy PR support (through national newsmedia and hundreds of targeted blogs), online films, a dedicated website, Facebook, Flickr, a YouTube channel, and print.