ELECTRIFIED: MERCEDES-BENZ EQA CAR SHOW

Short List
TitleELECTRIFIED: MERCEDES-BENZ EQA CAR SHOW
BrandZUNG FU COMPANY LIMITED
Product / ServiceMERCEDES-BENZ HK LIMITED
CategoryD02. Use of Licensed / Adapted Music
EntrantISOBAR HONG KONG, HONG KONG
Idea Creation ISOBAR HONG KONG, HONG KONG

Credits

Name Company Position
Jeffry Gamble Isobar Hong Kong Limited Creative Director
Michael Li Isobar Hong Kong Limited Account Management
Dennis Tsang Isobar Hong Kong Limited Experience Design Director
Astrar Lam Isobar Hong Kong Limited Technical Director
Anthony Huen Isobar Hong Kong Limited Project Management
Nathan Hau Isobar Hong Kong Limited Creative Director
Ken Lo Isobar Hong Kong Limited Creative Director
Alfred Tam Isobar Hong Kong Limited Art Director
Ocean Wong Isobar Hong Kong Limited Content Producer
Rico Fung Isobar Hong Kong Limited Copywriter

Background

With limited showroom floors in the land-starved city of Hong Kong, car brands have taken to holding hundreds of in-mall car shows each year to get their latest vehicles in front of consumers. Because of the frequency of these car shows, they’re put together without much thought. Park cars in a mall, put salespeople next to the cars and hopefully sell cars – simple, time-tested and boring. When Mercedes-Benz launched their newest EV, the EQA, with an in-mall car show, they needed something exciting to stand out. They also wanted to make sure that the EQA would become the most desirable and coolest EV in a crowded market. The objectives were to create a 3-day in-mall car show that would attract a large audience, generate sales leads and ultimately move EQA inventory.

Describe the creative idea

We looked to the power of music to attract a newer, younger generation of EV drivers. The EQA Jukebox, created for the ‘Electrified: Mercedes-Benz EQA Car Show’, harnessed the power of lightning to play Billboard’s hottest songs. That’s right, we made electricity sing! At the core of the installation were 2 Electrical Resonant Coils that emitted 200,000 Watts of electricity to play music. The EQA was parked between them for maximum exposure. Looking at data from various music streaming services as well as polling our target segment, we created an eclectic list of popular Western and Asian music. Western artists included The Weeknd, Dua Lipa, Shawn Mendes and more. Asian artists included Serrini, AGA, Terrence Lam, MIRROR and more. Our electrified music catalogue captivated a broad range of mallgoers in the thousands over 3 days. We even uploaded our electrified hits to Spotify and JOOX for a limited time.

Describe the strategy

Electric vehicle motors sound boring. So Mercedes-Benz gave electricity a powerful new sound by harnessing 200,000 Watts of electricity with Electrical Resonant Coils to play Billboard hits. Targeting the youthful mass-affluent segment of buyers, including those venturing into the world of EVs for the first time, we knew music was at the heart of everything they did. On Instagram, millions post dance challenges featuring the latest hit songs. On social gaming like Fortnite, platforms have become a stage for virtual concerts. So we married music with the ‘Electric’ in Electric Vehicles, creating singing electricity to finally make electric sound cool! Then we built an installation that was an Instagram-worthy stage, featuring the EQA, to bring this musical technology to our audience.

Describe the execution

Find the most popular music tracks. Adapt them to play on Electrical Resonant Coils. License numerous multi-ethnic songs for live performances and streaming. Looking at music data from streaming Apps like Spotify and JOOX (Hong Kong-based streamer) as well as polling our target segment, we came to a list of 11 top-of-the-charts songs we believed would resonate with our fashionable, young and multi-ethnic audience. We then took those songs and used AI to separate individual elements of each song to extract their melodies, which we streamed into our custom built Electrical Resonant Coils to play music with 200,000 Watts of electricity. We worked closely with a music licensing specialist to ensure that our popular electrified songs could be played in front of a live audience and on streaming services. With multiple songs from different labels, we were able to create a single contract to cover licensing for all.

Describe the outcome

Our live musical experience, featuring some of the hottest Billboard songs played with 200,000 watts of electricity, captured the attention and the imagination of thousands of mallgoers. Bringing plenty of acceptance, social shares and desire for the EQA among our fashionable young target segment. Thanks to the EQA Jukebox’s QR code + WhatsApp chatbot activation function, we were able to capture over 600 mobile phone leads for Mercedes-Benz in 3 days. All of this helped Mercedes-Benz sell their entire 2021 EQA inventory within a few weeks of the EQA Jukebox installation.