THE CAR SERVICE WITH NOTHING TO HIDE

TitleTHE CAR SERVICE WITH NOTHING TO HIDE
BrandNRMA
Product / ServiceMOTORSERVE CAR SERVICE
CategoryB04. Use of Ambient Media: Large Scale
EntrantGPY&R Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation GPY&R Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Media MATCH MEDIA Surry Hills, AUSTRALIA
Production HABITAT MEDIA St Peters, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
David Joubert Young & Rubicam Group Executive Creative Director
Bart Pawlak Young & Rubicam Group Executive Creative Director
Ben Coulson GPY&R ANZ Chief Creative Officer
Jana Kotatko NRMA General Manager, Marketing
Matt Siddons NRMA Head of Communications and Content
Tom Stevenson Young & Rubicam Group Account Manager
Sasha Firth Young & Rubicam Group Executive Director
Steffi Huebel Young & Rubicam Group Senior Account Director
Waqas Tahir Young & Rubicam Group Senior Planner
Sam Yeomans George Patterson Y&R Agency Producer
Brad Stapleton George Patterson Y&R Art Director
David Barton George Patterson Y&R Copywriter
Steven Iannello George Patterson Y&R Design Director
Simon Fraser NRMA Senior Manager, Customer Communications
Jenna Dacic NRMA Marketing Specialist, Customer Communications
Wameedh Al-Araji NRMA Data Scientist and Big Data Analyst

The Campaign

There are two types of mechanics in the world. The ones who rip you off. And NRMA MotorServe. Problem is, the public don’t know the difference. So we decided to show them by turning an ordinary outdoor site into a fully functioning NRMA MotorServe workshop. Drivers were lured off the road with a free car service. Their cars were driven onto our outdoor site, becoming part of our advertising. Then our NRMA mechanics did the rest, changing oil, replacing brake fluid, performing safety checks and even installing baby seats, all within full view of the public we wanted to convince. From there, our activation became our content. Interviews, roadtrip tales, customer testimonials, car maintenance ‘how to videos’ and photographs taken on the day were turned into pre-rolls, outdoor ads and digital display. They each spoke to our transparent experience, helped people find their nearest MotorServe and ultimately drove online bookings.

Creative Execution

Our idea was a unique approach to creating content for direct communications. By identifying a residential catchment with receptive NRMA Members, we created a two-day activation event over a busy weekend that would snare a captive audience and use them as the ambassadors of our MotorServe brand. The content that we captured continued to fuel our direct communications for the next three months. On the day, video crews interviewed drivers and mechanics to create 30 SEC YouTube pre-rolls. A stills photographer captured images that were used in location-based outdoor executions, directing viewers to their nearest MotorServe. The images were also used in digital display and direct communications to the high-propensity group where they helped drive online bookings. Promo Staff handed out pamphlets and encouraged passersby to ‘Save $50 off their next car service’.

Results

In just a few short months we’ve seen… 195% increase in branded search 12,000 new customers representing an overall increase of 19% $3.57 million in incremental revenue 18% decrease in cost per acquisition 380,000 views of our content videos

The NRMA outdoor activation is an excellent example of Direct Marketing based on a targeted approach. Using a ‘Lookalike’ analysis, we targeted new customers with a similar profile to our existing customers. This ensured that we were reaching out to a high-propensity group with a greater likelihood of purchase. The task was ambitious. Not only did we have to gain additional revenue YOY we were tasked to do that at a lower cost per acquisition. The campaign also had a promotional offer that enticed customers to switch from their auto-mechanic to NRMA MotorServe and continue their journey with us.

Our strategy was to challenge the category head-on. Most Australians believe mechanics are unscrupulous, overcharging for work when they haven’t done a thing. In comparison NRMA MotorServes are different. They believe in transparency and preventative care to give customers a fair go. So we needed an idea that could leverage these core qualities and show it to the public in an innovative way. The result was our NRMA MotorServe activation. We also added an offer to the campaign with the promotion “Save $50 off your next car service. Book now” that allowed us to measure direct response. Promo staff handed out leaflets on the day of our activation and the offer was also repeated on the website to encourage conversion from Digital display and YouTube pre-rolls.