The Campaign

As much as viewing the various rally cars compete at the WRC from an audience point-of-view, every motor sports fan would dream of actually riding a rally car. Additionally, sitting in a Hyundai i20 WRC in motion with the official Hyundai Motorsport team's driver behind the wheel would be every fan's dream. All this in 1st person, 360 degree view would provide a fully immersive experience to the viewers. Furthermore, to give our customers and fans a chance to experience the i20 WRC in full motion, we mapped the rally car's real motion data and the 360 degree video onto a 4D simulator for a true 4D VR experience.

Creative Execution

Multiple channels were utilized to provide a truly immersive VR experience to our global customers: 1) The Hyundai VR+ mobile application gives anyone with a supporting mobile device the opportunity to experience what it would feel like to ride in a moving i20 WRC with a professional driver. 2) A branded VR cardboard was developed and given out to visitors at offline events to allow visitors to continue the experience in the comforts of their homes. 3) The 4D VR experience simulator gives customers an opportunity to virtually "ride" the i20 WRC along with the motion of the rally car. The unit was showcased at '15/'16 Frankfurt, Beijing, Dubai and Geneva motor shows and promotion booths at 13 WRC rallies. The project is still ongoing today and many global users continue to experience the i20 WRC either through the HYUNDAI VR+ mobile application or 4D VR experience simulator.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Up until this date, a potential total of 65,000 customers experienced the VR 4D simulator and Head Mounted Display (HMD) VR zones at major international motor shows and WRC rally promotion booths A total of 160,000 HYUNDAI VR+ mobile application downloads have been achieved globally. Interestingly, this result was reached naturally with no media exposure. This number is still increasing today with a monthly average of 10,000 downloads. Customers previously unaware of the Hyundai i20 WRC and more broadly Hyundai's high-performance brand are now more openly relating the company with the high-performance sector. Furthermore, Hyundai's winnings in the recent '16 WRC rallies with the new-generation i20 WRC rally car has naturally spiked media exposure of the brand, ultimately leading to more HYUNDAI VR+ downloads and customer interest in the overall project.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Rally cars are mostly displayed at offline events in stationary modes; the loud engine sounds and lack of physical space makes it difficult to display an active rally car at offline events. The closest experience would be taking pictures with a stationary rally car. The motion-synced 4D simulator breaks down this restriction and delivers the dynamic movements of the i20 WRC in motion. The Virtual Reality environment gives customers the experience of "sitting" in an active i20 WRC with the Hyundai Motorsport's official driver behind the wheel. This creates a more immersive and engaging environment for our customers.

WRC is known to be one of the world’s toughest categories in motor sports. 13 races were held in 2015 on various road surfaces ranging from asphalt, gravel to snow on 4 different continents. However, physically attending the WRC is a rare experience only dedicated fans or locals are privileged to enjoy. We needed to remove the physical barrier of having to travel to various countries to experience the WRC in person. Virtual Reality (VR) was utilized to break down this obstacle. Customers experienced what it’s like to be sitting in a moving i20 WRC rally car as a Hyundai Motorsport team’s official co-driver, all in 360 degree view. Additionally, a 4D simulator that mirrored the simultaneous motion of a rally car was used to maximize the VR experience. Using VR’s characteristics, a reality only the privileged can enjoy was transformed into an easily accessible experience anyone can enjoy.