French car maker Citroën caused something of a stir earlier this year with its Unmistakably German campaign, to promote the new Citroën C5.
The core television commercial used German stereotypes ranging from buxom fräuleins to an oom-pah band and the Brandenburg gate, all backed by the suitably Germanic sountrack of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, to support the brand's clever positioning of a car that has all the hallmarks of German engineering but is actually made in France.
While the television advertising did a good job of attracting attention - not many agencies can say that they have caused a House of Commons motion requesting their work be withdrawn (because it included "imagery, symbolism and style reminiscent of the 1930s," Scottish Nationalist Party MP Angus Robertson claimed) - Citroën also decided to invest in a further campaign targeting potential customers through their mobile handsets.
Mobile advertising is still relatively new, but Yahoo! and Vodafone Live!, the online mobile portal, have been working together since the end of 2006 to develop formats and ad-serving methods in a bid to push the medium on.
Working on the Unmistakeably German strategy, created by ad agency Euro RSCG, along with media agency OMD and Yahoo!, Citroën came up with an innovative mobile campaign. As part of the deal with Yahoo!, Vodafone Live! can choose to serve ads to customers based on their gender and the age bracket into which they fall. This was perfect for Citroën's C5 campaign, already aimed at men between the ages of 30 and 54.
To further customise the campaign and cut out ad wastage, the campaign was run on the automotive portal in the Vodafone Live! site. This was the first time a brand had sponsored the site, and ensured that the banners were seen by people from the target demographic who had an interest in cars.
Once users clicked on a banner, they were taken through to a Citroën mobile site, where they had a choice of five options including viewing vehicle specifications and interiors, downloading Citroën video content and locating dealerships in their area.
The site was a mixture of entertainment, incorporating a fun How German Are You? quiz as well as downloads of the ad's attractive female stars (unsurprisingly the buxom waitress was the most popular with the target audience), with direct sales techniques more traditionally associated with automotive marketing.
The homepage also featured different images of the Citroën C5, which were changed each time a visitor navigated back there from visiting another area.
The campaign proved to be an enormous success with its target audience, with almost one in 10 people who viewed the ad clicking through.
But it is the marketing metrics that might make other brand owners sit up and take notice. Purchase intent rose by 9% among those who saw the campaign, while 18% said that they viewed the Citroën brand more favourably after they had seen it.
There was also a strong indication that it enhanced the offline campaign, with a 44% increase in message association.
Where to next?
Matt White, Yahoo! UK head of mobile sales, says: "The targeting made sure there was zero wastage and the creative made it engaging. Once people were inside the site, they really interacted with the elements."
White says that the success of the campaign shows that mobile phone advertising is not just for brands wanting to reach a youthful audience. "Mobile is not purely the domain of 16- to 24-year-old kids. The mobile universe is getting far broader. And creative agencies are starting to give mobile advertising far more resource and brainpower," he says, adding that the campaign showed that if mobile advertising is done well, is relevant and is served to the correct audience, "you'll get a decent response."
Other advertisers seem to agree, signing up for other opportunities on Vodafone Live! including what are known as "pre-roll ads" on clips from ITV's hit series X Factor, which will run before specially edited round-ups of the show. Other mobile networks Hutchison and T-Mobile are also coming on board with the targeting, although it remains to be seen if the success of a campaign relies solely on running a controversial ad combined with a buxom waitress and a Wagner soundtrack.
Weblink
Citroën C5: citroen.co.uk/microsite/Citroen-c5/
