Opel: NANNY ON BOARD

Credits & Description:

Category: Automotive and Transport

Advertiser: OPEL MERIVA

Product/Service: AUTOMOBILES

Creative Director: Melendy Britt (Weber Shandwick)

Chairman: Agustin Vivancos (DOMMO)

VP Creative: Jose Maria Prieto (DOMMO)

Art Director: Joan Miquel Orga (DOMMO)

Art Director: Jesus Mellado (DOMMO)

Copywriter: Pablo Barrionuevo (DOMMO)

Copywriter: Marian Rodriguez (DOMMO)

Senior Account Executive: Maria Casanova (Weber Shandwick)

Account Assistant: Nuria Madrid (Weber Shandwick)

Graphics: Aida Novoa (DOMMO)

Video: Sofia Vas (DOMMO)

Planner: Paula Antelo (DOMMO)

Account Director: Blanca Rico (DOMMO)

Account Manager: Cristina Valentin (Weber Shandwick)

Account Executive: Paula Ruiz del Portal (DOMMO)

Account Executive: Monica Chelucci (DOMMO)

Media placement: Print Press - Various Including El Mundo, La Gaceta, Negocio And Diario De Ibiza - 15th July 2010

Media placement: Broadcast - Various Including Antena 3, Telemadrid, TVE And Television Galicia - 14th July 2010

Media placement: Online - Various Including ABC.es, Wikio.es, ABCSevilla.es, EuropaPress.es And ElMundo.es - 14th July 2010



Summary of the Campaign

Launching Opel’s latest Meriva model in Spain was a huge challenge. Like all automotive companies, in 2010 Opel was facing a perfect storm in Spain: the ongoing economic downturn, a 2% hike in VAT, and the end of a government scheme giving consumers €2,000 for their old car.



Opel needed to tell consumers that its new Meriva was the best way of travelling with children, rather than merely transporting them. 'Nanny on Board' positioned the Meriva as being so family-friendly, it was like having a nanny travelling with you. No more wails of 'Are we there yet?' from the back seat!



As Spain geared up for the annual 'Operation Vacation' on 15 July, Madrid’s Gardens of Fortuny were transformed into a fantasy playground, where a celebrity mum and childcare expert showed journalists how to make car journeys easier. Playgrounds were installed at Opel dealerships across Spain, and potential buyers entered a competition to win a nanny for a year.



Immediate, enthusiastic coverage surpassed Opel’s expectations, and from July-September 2010, there was a 144% increase in dealership traffic compared with 2009. Incredibly, while overall car sales in Spain plummeted by 32%, there was a massive hike in sales of the Meriva.



The Situation

Opel is one of Europe's largest car makers. Like all automotive companies, in 2010 it was facing a perfect storm in the Spanish market: the ongoing economic downturn, 20% unemployment, a 2% hike in VAT, and the end of a government scheme giving consumers €2,000 for their old car.



It was arguably the worst environment ever in which to try and sell new cars. So when Opel asked its agencies to launch the Meriva in Spain - this was a huge challenge, not only because the mini MPV had already been on sale for months, but there was also no advertising budget.



The Goal

The team carried out consumer research into how a car could help to make transporting children an enjoyable experience for families, to avoid the eternal question: 'Are we there yet?'



The target audience was all parents. The objectives were:

• Position the Opel Meriva as a car designed specifically for the family’s needs, with flexible solutions to make travelling with children easier

• Achieve solid coverage across TV news and magazine programmes, news agencies, daily papers, women’s magazines, radio and blogs

• Increase consumer visits to Opel dealerships across Spain

• Increase sales of the Opel Meriva



The Strategy

The Opel Meriva, launched to motoring media earlier in 2010, was in need of a new burst of information to consumers in time with the summer season, when traditionally sales experienced a second peak.



The PR team worked with an independent media-neutral agency to develop a creative, fully integrated campaign that would meet the overarching goal of Opel Meriva owning the emotional space of travelling with children, rather than just transporting them.



The answer was the 'Nanny on Board’ campaign, positioning the Meriva as being so family-friendly, it was like having a nanny travelling with you.



The team worked with childcare specialists to develop tips for easy, enjoyable family car journeys, and worked with Opel dealerships. The timing of the launch – as Spain and its media geared up for 'Operation Vacation', the traditional long road trips at the start of the summer holidays on 15 July – was critical.



Execution

The day before Operation Vacation, Madrid’s Gardens of Fortuny were transformed into a child’s fantasy playground for the Nanny on Board launch event. Spanish celebrity and mum Alejandra Prat, an Opel spokesman and childcare expert Laura Micale showed 50 journalists simple solutions for fun, memorable family car journeys.



The team set up a Facebook fan page, and developed a 'Travelling with Kids' DVD full of tips for distribution at dealerships. Television stations and online outlets were sent b-roll on how parents' holiday car journey challenges were resolved with the wisdom of the 'Meriva Nanny'.



Playgrounds were installed at Opel dealerships across Spain, where potential buyers entered a competition to win a nanny for a year when they took a test drive.



Nanny on Board then went on tour, with the car, a playground and a team of nannies installed at Spanish theme parks for six weekends in the autumn.



Documented Results

The launch of Nanny on Board achieved immediate pick up on Spain’s television channels, including national and local news, surpassing Opel’s expectations. This broadcast success was combined with positive features in society, lifestyle and parenting print media, as well as numerous online hits. The campaign yielded a total of 102 pieces of coverage with an AVE of 539,000 euro. On-message headlines included: 'The car that understands kids'; 'How to answer "Mum/Dad are we there yet?"'; 'The first car with nanny on board' and 'The first car with nanny stops kids getting bored'.



Most importantly, the campaign had a significant business impact. Between July and September 2010, there was a 144% increase in dealership traffic compared with the same period in 2009. Incredibly, while overall car sales in Spain plummeted by 32%, there was a massive hike in sales of the Opel Meriva model between July-September 2010, compared to 2009.