Creative Execution

The Forester made the challenge to arrive at the ultimate truth—could it make a relentless 100,000 kilometer journey over five continents in one year? From beginning to end, portions of this real-life documentary were posted on the internet, made viewable with a smartphone app, and broadcasted as a TV commercial. This one-year proof-seeking project was conducted to demonstrate the superior performance of the Forester, a true SUV that could conquer any kind of road condition. Its progress was brought to the user totally unvarnished and in real time.

The project attained robust user engagement through the immediacy created out of daily updates. With owned media considered in general to have a low degree of new postings, this daily updated website fostered a sustained influx of users. The constant site renewal led to repeated user visits, and not simply a one-time view of the site. ・Forester was number one in SUV sales volume in the first half of 2013! ・80% of those who followed the campaign expressed an interest to purchase a Forester.※ ・Number of website hits: 4,153,496 ・Number of app downloads: 39,183 ・Number of related video views: 3,075,292 (Based on statistics from Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.)

A prospective car buyer would most probably presume that the car manufacturers’ websites are not a source of useful information. Instead of such “owned media,” which tend to be seen as self-serving and lacking in updated material, a consumer is likely to rely on car magazines, web magazines, and user community sites.