Audi: TRUTH IN MOTION

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Branded Content

Advertiser: AUDI OF AMERICA

Product/Service: AUDI

Date of First Appearance: Nov 18 2009 12:00AM

Entrant Company: MEDIACOM, New York, USA

Entry URL: http://www.facebook.com/#!/audi?v=app_271435737505&ref=ts

Chief Marketing Officer: Scott Keogh (Audi of America)

Manager Media/Brand Innovation: Benny Lawrence (Audi of America)

Executive Producer "Truth in Motion"/Director MediaCom Content: Adam Pincus (MediaCom)

Executive Producer "Truth in Motion": Rick Gentile (24 Productions)

Director "Truth in Motion": Brett Morgan

Managing Partner National Broadcast: Jay Baum (MediaCom)

Partner/Digital Media Director: David Manning (MediaCom)

Managing Director: Colin Sutton (M80)

Media placement: Digital Teaser - You Tube, Facebook - 18/11/2009

Media placement: Social Clips - You Tube, Facebook - 10/12/2009

Media placement: Web Videos - NBC Olympics.com And NBC.com - 12/01/2010

Media placement: TV Promotions Tune In - NBC, Universal Sports, NBC Universal Cable - 12/01/2010

Media placement: TV Promotion "Making Of..." - Universal Sports - 12/01/2010

Media placement: Launched Trailer - You Tube, Facebook - 27/01/2010

Media placement: Premiered Film On NBC With 5 Interstitials - NBC Primetime - 30/01/2010

Media placement: Launched iTunes - ITunes - 30/01/2010

Media placement: Re-Braodcast On USA - USA - 06/02/2010

Media placement: Launched Hulu - Hulu - 06/02/2010



Results and Effectiveness



Results were strong. Our primetime premiere outperformed the prior week’s programming in the same time period by 5%. Overall the film garnered 45 million impressions across all television viewings. Digital performance was even stronger, with over 300,000 full feature-film video downloads, and almost 1,000,000 views of video clips teasing the premiere on YouTube.

Following the January 20th launch of the documentary, February sales were up +34%. And, equally as important, Audi search query volume was up over 300% which is a core metric for brand consideration within the automotive purchase cycle and a leading indicator for future sales.



Creative Execution

From concept to distribution, we worked with Audi to create “Truth in Motion: The US Ski Team’s Road to Vancouver,” depicting athletes’ struggles to achieve their Olympic dreams, directed by award-winning documentarian Brett Morgan.
Remarkably, we secured distribution for the film on NBC, the Winter Olympics network and one of the US’s four major television networks, during its Saturday night primetime viewing period. DVR-proof interstitials transitioned seamlessly from film to commercial break, giving Audi unmistakable ownership.

The film premiered two-weeks prior to the start of the games, kicking off NBC’s Olympic programming and leveraging the US Ski Team’s success to drive interest. Online and on-air promotion—including online teaser clips distributed through blog outreach, social media channels and major video portals such as YouTube—drove tune-in. Cross channel airings and digital distribution on iTunes, Hulu, NBC.com and NBCOlympics.com helped to amass audience and drove engagement.



Insights, Strategy & the Idea

Within the US luxury car market Audi is a challenger brand, competing for consideration and share among long-reigning competitors Mercedes-Benz and BMW. By necessity, Audi’s marketing strategy has been to outsmart, rather than outspend.

Audi's prospects are looking for a smart, progressive alternative to conventional luxury cars. They’re prepared to challenge tradition; find a contemporary form of luxury.

Among high profile media events, the Winter Olympics, where past achievements are overtaken by new, is a perfect fit for the Audi consumer and brand DNA. But, how does Audi stand out in an event that is typically dominated by the automotive market?

Our solution: don’t just advertise in the Olympics; become part of the story. Leverage Audi's association with the US Ski Team by creating an original documentary that explores the competition, speed, technology, drama of the sport — elements core to Audi and ski racing.