Cityscape switched from day to night on the microsite's configurator section.
Task
Mercedes-Benz wanted a 12 month multi- channel awareness campaign to help establish their new Mercedes-Benz Vito van as the medium size van of choice for any business neeeding a van.
Solution
In a deliberate move away from appealing solely to plumbers and builders I wanted the campaign to capture and resonate with a wide cross section of trades that use vans for their daily business. These trades could be anything from pet groomers to bakers and I wanted to capture those peoples imaginations with the benefits of owning a New Vito.
My big idea was to create a 'tools of the trade' cityscape based on the London landscape for instant recognition. The cityscape was constructed out of a variety equipment and products of used by the diversity of businesses that would benefit from having the new Vito van.
Having considered several creative executions I decided that the only way to make this have real impact and to match what I had in my head was through the use of CGI. I then needed to convince Mercedes-Benz this was the right approach and persuade them to increase the budget required needed to produce CGI imagery
With the green light given I commissioned the renowned CGI studio Happy Finish to create the assets based on my visuals. The results proved so popular that it opened the door for the creation of CGI imagery across other campaigns (see Vito Sport case study).
For added engagement across digital platforms the New Vito's 'tools of the trade' cityscape environment changed from day to night and van colours could be specced. The line 'Made For The People Supporting The Nation' supported the creative. This line was retained for later campaigns.
As another major part of the campaign my account director and myself hatched a plan to approach Travis Perkins (TP) as we recognised them as a premium builders merchant a good brand fit with Mercedes-Benz. With our client onboard we asked TP if they be happy to get involved and sponsor a national New Vito tour that would call in at strategic TP sites and promote a win a new Vito van competition. TP jumped at the chance and we tied the tour in with other channels for a joined up awareness strategy that would have the legs to run for the year. Other comms channels included: OOH, trade advertising and a major TALKsport radio tie up that promoted the tour and competition.
Result
The campaign reached over 151,000 people through Travis Perkins Stores, statement runs, Pro Builder inserts and targeted eshots.
Radio campaigns reached an audience of over 890,000 people.
An inclusive cityscape - from printer towers to dog groomers topairy
So well received was the creative that it opened the doors to further campaigns being created in CGI. Mercedes-Benz even comissioned an internal comms video showing how the campaign was devised and created. This was then broadcast in their HQ atrium for all to see.
The making of the 'Tools of the trade' cityscape.
Credit: Cygnus