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• > Active Engagement
• > Digital/Online
• > Earned
• > Owned
• > Research / ROI
• > Social media / Mobile / Emerging

The car’s the star

We changed consumer perceptions of a car by creating an emotional bond with a younger, more creative audience.

The challenge

With the first body change in seven years, Mitsubishi's new Lancer needed to connect with a new audience. Our challenge was to grow revenues by making the new Lancer emotionally relevant to younger buyers, repositioning perceptions of its status, and increasing sales of the more profitable VR and VRX models

Our insight

Economy and value for money had been the key selling points for the old-style Lancer. But research showed that today's small-car buyers were younger and more concerned that their car should reflect their personal style.

We identified that modern media phenomena such as blogging, instant messaging and social networking have high penetration among young small-car buyers. They enjoy communicating with each other and creating their own content online

Our solution

We created the Lancer Supershort Series, a sequence of short films made by young directors participating in Tropfest, the world's largest short film festival. Each film focused on one of the six marketing themes behind the new Lancer - safer, smoother, greener, stronger, smarter, roomier.

The films were rolled out on TV, PayTV and at the movies, with supporting PR. They were also viewable online at a microsite where visitors could vote for their favorite or share it with friends.

Through the site, we invited consumers to create their own Lancer film, with the chance to win a new Lancer and have their film screened at next year's Tropfest festival

The results

• 37% sales increase
• Lancer became one of the three best-selling small cars
• VR and VRX models now account for 50% of Lancer sales