While using music to launch a new version of a car is not new or revolutionary, doing it with a live performance where the car plays an integral part in the show, in this case triggering parts of the track to which the artist was singing, had never been done before. The New Fiat 500 is iconic. To dramatise the launch of a new version of the car, we asked a rising star, Ella Eyre, to remaster an iconic track. The Emotions’ Best of My Love was chosen because of its positive, upbeat message and iconic status.
Ultimately, Ella Eyre would perform the chosen track live to the public and a specially-selected audience of motoring and lifestyle journalists, bloggers, celebrities (Pixie Lott, Eva Herzigová among others) and Fiat VIPs. The performance itself was unique. The car was situated on a giant vinyl record and as it drove round the record like a giant stylus, it triggered different parts of the backing track.
But it wasn’t just about the live performance. The journey of how we worked with Ella to achieve it delivered some compelling, sharable and rewarding content.
Four films were made and posted on various social media sites and Fiat’s YouTube channel. Capital Radio created an app that listeners could use to remaster their own versions of the original track, to win tickets to the event or a new Fiat 500. If you visited a Fiat dealer to take a test drive, you would be entertained by DJs playing their favourite iconic tracks and you could win a premium Spotify subscription.
We commissioned Goldsmiths, University of London, to conduct research in to what makes a music track iconic and published the results. The music track was used in the new Fiat 500 TV advert with Ella providing the voiceover.
Results
The campaign achieved staggering results, with £8.5m of PR value (against a target of £500,000) and 812m media impressions so far (against a target of 35m).
The Icon Remastered concept gave the New Fiat 500 the license to create buzz and engage a wider target audience than traditional Fiat 500 buyers. By being brave
and doing different, this campaign surpassed the expectations of the brand, smashed its targets and created a piece of unique content that will long live in the memory.
Nick Presley is executive creative director of Initials
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