THE RIGHT OF WAY EXPEDITION

TitleTHE RIGHT OF WAY EXPEDITION
BrandSKODA INDIA
Product / ServiceSKODA YETI
CategoryC01. Integrated Media Campaign
EntrantMEDIACOM INDIA New Delhi, INDIA
Entrant Company:MEDIACOM INDIA New Delhi, INDIA
Media Agency:MEDIACOM INDIA New Delhi, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Ashwini Kamat Mediacom India General Manager
Ramaswamy Ranganathan Mediacom India Business Group Head
Jigar Desai Mediacom India Senior Business Manager

Results and Effectiveness

• Nearly 300 Yetis were sold in just 30 days. • By the 60th day, Yeti had sold 3.5 times more cars than its direct competitor did in the whole year (2010) • This was achieved at 1/4th the media investment of other mega brands • A large online network was created around the Skoda Yeti brand : the website had 55,000 unique visitors & Facebook fans rose by 200% to 63,877 • The campaign won numerous awards including “NDTV Car & Bike Integrated Marketing Campaign of the Year”.

Creative Execution

In total, 10,000+ people applied for the competition through a dedicated microsite. Such was the buzz around the expedition that over 3 million people regularly visited the site to read updates from the travellers and view their latest pictures. Over 20 media channels came together to bring this campaign alive: National Geographic, hugely popular among wild life enthusiasts and off-roaders, aired the event through a 6 week series. Jockeys on leading radio channels gave live status updates and tracked the event for listeners Journey logs and advertorials were published across leading dailies and magazines country-wide Social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter were exploited to provide real-time updates from the travellers After the event, Steve Winter, National Geographic’s world renowned wildlife photographer selected his favorite photos from expedition to compile a special Yeti Jungle Calendar available for download online.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

In the competitive Indian SUV market, perceptions tended to associate size with quality. Bigger meant better! When Skoda was launching the Yeti, a smaller chassis & wheel-base SUV, we needed to prove that size wasn’t everything and that our car could outperform most other, bigger SUVs. Our insight showed that SUV usage was limited to city driving. Owners didn’t go off-roading and never exploited the true potential of their vehicles. So, we created an opportunity for potential Yeti buyers to experience the thrills of off-roading, and learn first-hand that, despite its modest size, the Skoda was a better performing SUV than its rivals. We launched a competition to send 15 potential Yeti owners on the journey of a lifetime! In a coming together of man, machine and nature, winners were paired with a celebrity driver and a wildlife photographer to tackle the drive of a lifetime in their Skoda Yeti. The Skoda Yeti – Right of Way Expedition was born!