Media > Use of Media

UNSHACKLING AN AUSSIE LEGEND

STARCOM MELBOURNE, Melbourne / GENERAL MOTORS / 2008

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Overview

Credits

OVERVIEW

CommunicationGoal

GM Holden's share of the Ute category (‘Utility’ 4x2 recreational pick-ups) was under threat. The once mighty Holden Ute had dwindled to only 3% purchase intention. The VE Holden Ute was scheduled for launch in September and our challenge was to triple intention to 9%!The audience for this iconic masculine brand was historically the macho ‘Crocodile Dundee’ Aussie bloke, but times had changed. Many reports told us that Crocodile Dundee had become a sensitive guy, a metrosexual who used moisturiser! However, digging deeper we found the good old Aussie was still alive; he was just hidden under the surface, shackled by today’s politically correct world. Our strategy was to leverage the moments when the shackles were off – providing unique content that they would be desperate to tell their mates about.

Effectiveness

Our ‘zero-budget’ pre-launch campaign drove 12,000 registrations and 50% of the launch sales target in pre-orders! Purchase intention rose from 3% to 16% in one-month and dealers were booked solid with test drives for 6 months! We had challenged Holden’s perceptions of digital media and it had paid off.

Execution

Holden were nervous about spending media budget in the pre-launch phase so we proposed a radical solution. Rather than use money we used our time! We spent 2 weeks infiltrating male-focused blogs and forums – a place where Aussie blokes gathered with the shackles truly removed; unseen and anonymous!These guys read blogs from ‘insiders’ to be first to know and then use this information for ‘bragging rights’ with mates. If we could ‘leak’ information to these influencers they would pass it on and create excitement about the unveiling of the new Ute. We were putting a new model pre-launch in the hands of the consumer!We leaked information about a microsite called 'Evolution Ends Here', where the new Ute was shown under a cover. Visitors could then register to see the Ute gradually revealed. 6,000 people visited the microsite in first 24-hours! The word was spreading fast!

MediaStrategy

Once anticipation had built we needed to deliver! On launch day the car was revealed, visitors could drive the car virtually with their keyboard! The forums went crazy!A huge display campaign used cutting edge ‘behavioural targeting’ to re-message to those who’d shown interest in Ute and tell a story about the Evolution of this Australian Icon. In line with the campaign theme of 'Evolution Ends Here', we commissioned Sportal.com.au to build an ‘Evolution of Australian Sport’. The progress of Holden’s Ute models, from 1951 to 2007 followed the sporting timeline. We created an emotional connection with consumers by linking the evolution of the Ute to the greatest sporting moments of their lives! The ultimate talking points for Aussie blokes!Holden had never done anything like this. Forum seeding, viral, behavioural targeting and digital content creation were beyond their universe. The results had to be impressive.

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