Title | THE BMW SWITCH |
Brand | BMW GROUP ASIA |
Product / Service | BMW PERFORMANCE PARTS |
Category | A01. Event & Field Marketing |
Entrant | PUBLICIS SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE |
Entrant Company: | PUBLICIS SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE |
Sales Promotion/Advertising Agency: | PUBLICIS SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE |
Name | Company | Position |
---|---|---|
Ajay Thrivikraman | Publicis Singapore | Executive Creative Director |
Kris Ng | Publicis Singapore | Head Of Art |
Jury Gregorio | Publicis Singapore | Head Of Copy |
Ho Pei Ling | Publicis Singapore | Senior Copywriter |
Eugene Pua | Publicis Singapore | Art Director |
Chin Weihao | Publicis Singapore | Digital Art Director |
Lynn Cheng | Publicis Singapore | Regional Producer |
Ang Qian Ling | Publicis Singapore | Strategic Planner |
Desmond Tan | Salt Films | Director |
Ranadip De | Publicis Singapore | Senior Copywriter |
Ben Wardle | Publicis Singapore | Associate Account Director |
Jeff Yeo | Publicis Singapore | Account Manager |
It’s easy to sell a car, it’s harder to sell parts of a car. A small part of a big business, BMW Performance Parts runs just one print ad a year. But parts need to be seen, felt and heard to excite true petrol-heads. Unlike a dealer, we do not have a ready customer pool to reach out directly. Road shows and social media cost too much. So how can we spread awareness and get BMW enthusiasts salivating after Performance Parts? We made them really sit up and really notice the difference -- by playing a prank on BMW drivers.
The idea is to find BMW superfans on influential forums and ask them prank friends who own stock BMW models. Working with the victims’ wives and friends, we switched their BMW with Performance Enhanced edition without their knowledge, and filmed their responses. Because Performance Parts have a noticeable difference (a louder exhaust, more aerodynamic) their responses are immediate and extreme. Once the gag was up, victims can keep their ‘pimped’ car as an excluisve weekend test drive. This authentic and entertaining video content is filmed, uploaded and shared by BMW enthusiasts on Youtube, our microsite, and local car forums.
With international blogs like Autoblog picking up on this local campaign, in the first 4 weeks, BMW Switch videos generated over 350,000 views on Youtube alone as the No.1 watched car videos in Singapore. It also drew the highest online conversations – 71.2% compared to Mercedes Benz’s 3.52%. This awareness corresponded with genuine business results: sales increased by 35% over 8 weeks (15% beyond target) and 60% uplift in new leads. For a campaign costing only $48,000, that’s $16 per referral and $240 per lead – compared to $2,000 per lead that a print ad cost.
Performance Parts need to be experienced, not read about. The BWM Switch allowed us to demonstrate the difference between regular BMWs and Performance Editions right away through guerilla marketing so the responses are genuine and immediate. The idea of involving BMW Superfans and clueless regular BMW owners is a superior promotion method compared to a print ad as it allows us to target the right customber base, highlight product benefits and increase Performance Parts sales through direct promotion onground (the BMW switch victims) and word of mouth (filmed responses uploaded and shared by fans who are surprised by Performance Parts).