Standing out in the Canadian automotive sector isn’t a walk in the park (it isn’t a drive in the park either, because that would be illegal, but it’s a metaphor, so work with us here).
Automotive sales in the country dropped significantly in 2018 (the first time in nearly a decade), and Mitsubishi was one of many car manufacturers recognizing that more and more consumers were interested in SUVs, especially millennials, Gen X, and Boomers. So much so that the brand decided to stop producing sedans to focus on what the customers wanted.
So, the goal was to drive awareness (see what we did there?) around Mitsubishi’s new fleet of vehicles—especially Mitsubishi’s new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV)—but the challenge was cutting through the clutter of cars (PHEVs, SUVs, and sedans alike) and becoming more relevant in the Canadian car market.
The strategy
To ensure the brand and its 2019 messaging was firing on all cylinders (yes, more automotive metaphors), HighTest partnered with Scratch to develop an omnichannel campaign across traditional direct mail, POP, experiential, email, social activations, paid media (OOH, social, digital media), content creation (video), and a MiShowroom app.
To that end, both agencies worked closely with Mitsubishi’s North American AOR, along with the company’s corporate team in Japan to ensure full, seamless, and optimized integration across all channels.
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Tactics and supporting creative included
Traditional: Brochures, direct mail pieces, takeaway assets, in-store POP, Dealership communication package, email campaign
Content: Video content (in-car user testimonials) Regular social media posting and community engagement/management
Social activations: Online contest
Paid media: Digital media buy with retargeting to generate awareness of the launch OOH (billboard and transit campaign)
Experiential: Drove users to a microsite where they could sign up for a test drive event in their city
App:
MiShowroom - Designed, developed, and implemented a digital showroom training tool for use in dealership by Sales Consultants. The reference tool provides top-line information on the complete vehicle lineup used for product knowledge development, as well as a source for the latest training materials. The app was shared with customers during the sales process.
The results:
Increased social media engagement by 47%
100% sign-up pre-event with 72% of registrations showing up at their scheduled test drive
Increased email campaign engagement by 32% YOY
Increased monthly in-market impressions by 11% MOM
Achieved campaign CTR of 1.36%
Increased 13% YOY of new visitors to the vehicle detail pages
MiShowroom App was used in over 70% of dealerships, and by over 90% of sales staff in adopted locations
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