UNBEATEN PATHS

TitleUNBEATEN PATHS
BrandINCHCAPE (LEXUS) HONG KONG
Product / ServiceLEXUS UX
CategoryG04. Social Behaviour & Cultural Insight
EntrantTBWA\HONG KONG, HONG KONG SAR
Idea Creation TBWA\HONG KONG, HONG KONG SAR
Media Placement MINDSHARE Hong Kong, HONG KONG SAR
Production TBWA\HONG KONG, HONG KONG SAR

Credits

Name Company Position
Jan Cho TBWA Hong Kong Managing Director
Jerome Ooi TBWA Hong Kong Executive Creative Director
Terence Ling TBWA Hong Kong Head of Strategy
Pauline Wong TBWA Hong Kong Director of Client Services
Joe Choi TBWA Hong Kong Group Creative Director
Mikey Batt TBWA Hong Kong Associate Creative Director
Mike Choy TBWA Hong Kong Design Director
David Cheang TBWA Hong Kong Senior Strategist
Kaki Li TBWA Hong Kong Account Director
Anne Chan TBWA Hong Kong Head of Digital
Minji Pyen TBWA Hong Kong Digital Art Director
Yvonne Ng TBWA Hong Kong Digital Art Director
Jeffrey Lee TBWA Hong Kong Social Strategist
Chu Kei Chan TBWA Hong Kong Web Developer
Juno Kam TBWA Hong Kong Screen Producer
Louis Tang TBWA Hong Kong Integrated Producer
Matthew Yu TBWA Hong Kong Digital Producer
Gerald Tam TBWA Hong Kong Director of Social
Joyce Tsang TBWA Hong Kong Content Director
Yammy Tse TBWA Hong Kong Social Content Manager
Kenneth Law TBWA Hong Kong Social Content Manager
Scarlett Zhou TBWA Hong Kong Account Executive

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

Unbeaten Paths is a test drive campaign for the Hong Kong launch of the all-new Lexus UX, a crossover built for urban exploration. The campaign activated the UX by giving prospective millennial consumers an urban exploration test drive experience that integrated their Facebook data to reveal lifestyle destinations that they had never explored before. In order to make the experience meaningful to our audience, we helped them to uncover the lifestyle destinations that needed help being discovered; the small, creative businesses forced to relocate from the high street to the hidden corners of the city.

Background

The all-new Lexus UX is a crossover built for urban exploration. But in Hong Kong, a city of astronomical rents, unique lifestyle destinations grow fewer and fewer by the day. For most independent shops, galleries, studios and cafes, the only affordable locations are in the least visited corners of the city. So what good is a car built for urban exploration if there’s nothing left to explore? We needed to inspire millennial drivers to rethink what the city could offer them and give them a new way to experience it.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

A DATA-DRIVEN TEST DRIVE THAT PUT INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES BACK ON THE MAP We created Unbeaten Paths, a data-driven test drive experience that connected millennial consumers who love exploring with small creative businesses that needed help to be discovered. Throughout the initial campaign period, our test drive experience led each driver on a journey to uncover the hidden lifestyle gems in their city that were most relevant to their interests. In addition to creating unique Instagrammable experiences for our millennial audience, we also generated quality leads for small businesses that were eager for more traffic.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

TO LAUNCH THE CAR, WE NEEDED TO RE-LAUNCH THE CITY. The Lexus UX is an urban explorer targeted at millennials – a group always on the hunt for novel experiences that can enhance their social status. But this can be a futile exercise for them in this city. Due to the constant influx of mainland Chinese tourists, landlords have driven up retail rents. Today, Russell Street in Causeway Bay is the world’s most expensive retail location, beating 5th Avenue in New York. Only deep-pocketed global chains such as McDonald’s and LVMH can afford this. For small businesses, the only options are far away from the high street. Because of this monotonous environment, 57% of our target audience travel at least three times a year to find Instagrammable activities. CREATIVE CHALLENGE: INSPIRE STATUS-HUNGRY LOCALS TO RE-EXAMINE A FAMILIAR CONCRETE JUNGLE. Otherwise, what use is a car that's built for urban exploration?

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

We created a digital test-drive platform that pulled data from various sources to map out unique test-drive experiences for each driver. This platform was populated with dozens of small businesses that were curated with the help of leading lifestyle publications. Before each test drive, the platform harnessed each driver’s interest and location data from Facebook and used it to map out personalised routes to destinations they had never previously visited. To showcase the UX’s urban exploration qualities, we used real-time traffic and mapping data from Google that allowed drivers to select different driving conditions such as windy roads, long straights and hill climbs. It also ensured a pleasurable uninterrupted driving experience. In addition, we created a UX VIP partnership programme offering incentives such as discounts and trials at each of the small businesses. Our campaign ran for 12 consecutive weekends out of multiple test-drive pickup locations across Hong Kong.

List the results (30% of vote)

Within only a 12-weekend period, the campaign resulted in record test drive bookings and sales. Lexus senior management have been deeply impressed by this success, and have decided to turn Unbeaten Paths into an ongoing platform at the showroom. 22,954,011 free impressions generated for small businesses. 208 Unbeaten Paths were created during the campaign. Average 8.7 paths created each day in the 24-day period allocated for test-drives. 211% more test drives completed than the previous campaign. 4 times higher conversion rate from lead to test drive vs the previous campaign. Average of 2 cars sold every day during the campaign, generating over US$7M in sales revenue. Every dollar invested into the campaign generated $24 worth of sales in return. What’s more, small businesses gain access to quality traffic and millennials get to rediscover their home city. It’s a triple win situation that helps both business and culture in Hong Kong.

Please tell us about the social behaviour and/or cultural insights that inspired your campaign

For Hong Kong millennials, like those all over the world, experience is king. They are constantly looking for unique lifestyle experiences that can be used as social currency. But due to Hong Kong’s expensive real estate market, small creative studios, shops, cafes and galleries are forced to set up in the least visited corners of the city. In addition, social media echo chambers constantly feed young Hongkongers with the same experiences over and over again. This creates the feeling that there’s no new experiences around them for them to explore. Because of this, 57% of our millennial target audience travel overseas up to three times a year in search of interesting experiences. For the launch of a car designed for urban exploration, this posed a problem. Unbeaten Paths turned this problem into a solution by giving millennials a way to uncover new experiences they had never encountered before.

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