Category: Cars & Automotive Services
Advertiser: SAIC MOTOR
Product/Service: ROEWE W5
Media Agency: MAXUS CHINA, Shanghai, CHINA
: Roewe Planning Team (Maxus Shanghai)
: Roewe Marketing Team (Saic Motor)
Media placement: TV - 227 15" & 30" Spots - CCTV1, 2, 3, 4, 5, News - 1 Sep 2011
Media placement: NPP - 41 HP4C Insertions - 23 Titles In 10 Markets Including Xinmin Evening News, Shanghai Morning Post, Etc. - 31 August 2011
Media placement: Magazines - 55 Insertions - 31 Titles, Including National Geography, Chinese National Geography, Auto World, Etc. - 1 August 2011
Media placement: Roadshow - 8 Events - Beijing, Hefei, Suzhou, Jinan, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Kunming, Shanghai - 15 October 2011
Media placement: Internet - 240 Million Impression - 35 Websites, Including Sina Weibo, Baidu News, Etc. - 1 Sep 2011
Insights, Strategy & the Idea
In China, imported brands are revered for their quality, heritage and authenticity. The Chinese car market is the most competitive in the world, growing more than 50% per year.
We were tasked to launch and drive sales of Chinese brand Roewe’s new SUV, the W5. We needed to do this with a limited budget and during the fourth quarter of 2011, the peak time for the market where advertising is at its most cluttered and cut-through hardest to achieve.
Moreover, in the SUV segment of the Chinese market, adventure credentials and history are key. Our problem was that the Roewe W5, while rugged and well-equipped, had neither credentials nor heritage – we had no story to tell.
So, we needed to build adventure authenticity in a way that was credible to our audience, while allowing us to stand out from foreign competitor brands.
Creative Execution
We developed a pioneering partnership with National Geographic. For the first time in automotive history, a media brand logo was used to sell a car.
We released a limited edition W5 that was badged on the front, sides and back with the National Geographic logo. As well as demonstrating endorsement from the premier adventure brand in the world, our audience would feel as if they could own a vehicle available only to professional explorers and photographers.
We also created content that linked the W5 to heroic stories from Chinese history. We produced a documentary about air trucks in Tibet during WWI and incorporated it into advertising. Teaser ads appeared across magazines and newspapers and TV spots directed people to our sponsorship of the Hua Xia NGO Channel.
Finally, a W5 was driven along the ‘road of legends’ to Tibet. Travel and finance magazines, newspapers, and websites covered its journey.
Results and Effectiveness
This was one of Roewe’s most successful launches. W5 sales are 57% above target.
National Geographic W5 sales were 10 times greater than those without the badge.
Demand was so high for the National Geographic SUVs that they went from being ‘Limited Edition’ to standard model, as Roewe badged more and more cars to meet demand.
Overall, 84% of our audience said the logo made them ‘love’ the W5; more than 84% said the logo made them want to buy a W5; and more than 50% said buying the limited edition W5 would make them feel like ‘an outdoor professional’.