Take the Wheel
5 of Instagram's best photographers, 5 days each behind the wheel of the highly anticipated Mercedes-Benz CLA. Whoever gets the most likes during their week will win the CLA.
Mercedes-Benz needed to reach a new generation of buyer – one that had started to believe its rivals’ attempts to paint it as “old luxury." The brand’s answer was the all-new CLA, starting at only $29,900. From its bolder design language to its astonishing price point, it was made to win over Gen Y.
But how to get their attention in the first place? When we looked at our target audience we noticed a fascinating tension – they were addicted to their devices while valuing experiences over things.
Watch the case study below
Because their mobile phones have made it so easy to capture and share these experiences, pictures had become the language of the generation - and Instagram THE platform.
At the time, Instagram didn’t have any paid media options, so we had to tap into native behavior. We discovered that the network had given birth to a handful of wildly popular users, otherwise everyday-Gen Y consumers whose stunning imagery had garnered them hundreds of thousands of followers. We also discovered an undercurrent of unspoken competition on the platform. It came down to who could capture the best moment or image, which makes sense for a generation raised on reality TV contests and gaming. From these insights, Take the Wheel was born.
We challenged five of Instagram’s best photographers to spend five days each behind the wheel of the Mercedes-Benz CLA.
Each would document their trip, sharing six photos a day on their Instagram account and the Mercedes-Benz Instagram account. The hook? Whoever who gets the most likes, keeps the CLA. The influencers were chosen not just for the quality of their imagery, but also to represent a diverse range of lifestyles and viewpoints. As they rallied their substantial fan base and took breathtaking imagery, no one was calling the brand “stuffy" anymore.
Creative Team
Creative Director: Alex Bodman
Associate Creative Director: Penn Li
Art Directors: Lauren Race, Nicole James, Thomas Dudon
Copywriter: Nick Elliot
Designers: Andy Catchaturyan, Ryan Kalus, Abby Hirsh
Agency: Razorfish
Results
“This campaign represents a new evolution in earned media […] This is taking the paid, owned, earned model, and really focusing on the owned and earned and ramping that up to a new level," said Forbes in a feature article on the campaign (Source: forbes.com 8/23/2013).
87 million organic impressions
Over 2 million likes (source: Instagram).
There were 549,000 social mentions on Facebook and Twitter alone. And this social conversation was 90% net positive. (Source: Netbase)
In August, as the campaign reached its climax, there were more visitors to MBUSA.com than any time in the site’s history.
Over one million visitors viewed CLA content, with 342,000 build-your-owns.
But can mobile photography actually move cars? When the CLA launched in September, it broke sales records
Awards
Cannes Lions Shortlist: Branded Content + Entertainment
Effie Winner: Silver (Automotive)
Webby Finalist: Social Media, Photography
Smarties Campaign Winner: Marketing Strategy Gold
IAB Mixx Award - Product Launch - Silver
IAB Mixx Award - Branded Content - Bronze
WOMMA Award - Engagement - Silver
MMA Smarties Award - Direct Response/Conversion - Gold
MMA Smarties Award - Brand Awareness - Silver
MMA Smarties Award - Product/Services Launch - Silver
Digiday Video Award - Best In-Stream Video Ad
WARC 100 Best Campaigns of 2015 - #47
Epica Award - Online Campaigns, Automotive - Silver