Hot Dog Pie. Our team name was based on the following two truths: 1. People love hot dogs. 2. People love pie. But will they come together to make a delicious meal? Yes.
Adam
This presentation will tell you about: 1. A group of drivers that is going to take Audi to the next level. 2. A strategy and a message that will resonate with these drivers. 3. An integrated campaign that has multiple customer touch points. 4. A plan to achieve all of this within the budget of 3 - 5 million. And we want to have some fun.
We wanted to set aside any preconceived notions or “conventional“ wisdom that we had about cars in order to go beyond the surface level and truly understand the core audience, as well as Audi. We interviewed: 1. Current audi drivers and loyalists. 2. Did over 30 interviews with millennials. 3. Tested our creative concepts in focus groups to get feedback on our ideas.
Audi has differentiated itself from other luxury car brands by owning progressive luxury. But we really wanted to dig deeper into what exactly “progressive� means for Audi and for their potential drivers. We knew that if we found a group of people who actually lived progressively... Audi would not only reinforce their image and lifestyle, but these people would reinforce the idea of progressive luxury for Audi. So, who are these people?
1. They are not defined by their age or their profession, but rather by a mindset and their overall outlook on life. 2. They do not define themselves by only one role, but they’re passionate about all of the roles they play in life. 3. It’s not about a single role, but the collective. 4. It’s not just about the present roles, but also the future possibilities.
For this group, life is not a checklist: Graduate. Job. Marriage. Kids. Retirement. Instead, they live a non-linear lifestyle, which doesn’t mean that life is chaotic, random, or messy. They have a plan for what they want to do, but how they get there may change along the way. And they are open to change because they realize that their experiences are what shape them and their decisions.
Most importantly, this group is always questioning. Whether they’re searching for information, seeking new answers to old problems, or wondering about the unknown, they have a strong desire to constantly learn and explore. They inspire those around them because they get people excited about possibilities. Rather than accept things the way they are, they look to create options for themselves and for others.
Because of their curiosity about the world, we've named this group of people "the Curious Class." It’s important to realize that this mindset is not restricted to any specific age group, but for this millennial campaign we found that there are 27 million 18-31 year olds who live this type of lifestyle.
After talking to these people in the Curious Class, we uncovered 3 main insights about how they relate to the luxury car industry and Audi.
Insight #1: The luxury car category is intimidating. This is how they think brands are trying to sell cars.
One major reason they are intimidated by luxury cars is because of the driver stereotypes that are often associated with them. We found that this group associates certain professions and personalities with Audi’s competitor’s cars, but because this group does not define themselves by only one role they play in life, so they don’t want a car that confines them to just one. And It would limit the type of drivers who drive Audi.
Insight #2: People are curious because Audi is an up-and-coming brand on the move. Insight #3: Audi is a blank canvas. We constantly heard this theme when talking to people, and we were excited to see them display a willingness and openness to listen to a luxury car brand.
Almost everyone we spoke to could recall a recent ad done by Audi. Their ads have been successful at increasing awareness over the past couple years, as well as closing the gap between Audi and the other Tier 1 brands. Because of this, the Curious Class understands that Audi is NOT like BMW, Mercedes Benz, or Lexus, but now it is important to define who Audi is.
When talking to this group, we heard over and over that they couldn’t identify or describe a strong stereotype for Audi or Audi drivers. But we see this as a great opportunity for our campaign because they’re INTRIGUED by Audi’s mystery.
Our Objectives: 1. Show them what Audi stands for. 2. Inspire and Empower them to take their curiosity further. 3. Build a social network around Audi. So once we identified a group of people that will further define Audi as the progressive challenger, we wanted to re-look at this idea of progress. What ties all of this together? How does progress begin? What is the driving force that keeps it going? This is where we found the link between Audi and our target.
Audi’s curiosity is what makes every detail of your car better.
Audi does not just seek new solutions because of a problem but because of a desire to constantly move forward and to become better. Never growing complacent, but always asking questions. What are the facets that make up curiosity?
The Audi Mind Map: A tool that gives users the chance to discover new online content. As someone uses it over a period of time, it learns their interests, pursuits and hobbies. Then, it uses this knowledge to create a branded digital experience that will resonate with Audi’s customers because it is built around them.
The Mind Map is built around dynamically-generated interest profiles of each of its users. Once it knows the DNA of it’s user’s interests, it does the following: 1. Groups all the user’s interest into categories. (Ex: transportation and alternate fuel) 2. Finds relationships between the groups (Ex: electric cars) 3. Recommends sites and programs to the user (Ex: betterplace.com) 4. Points the user to prominent thought leaders in their fields of interests. (Ex: Shai Agassi) 5. Links them to other users with similar interests.
It also puts a twist on the search function. When a user enters a search term, it brings an added value to search by showing how the results relate to the user’s interests, so they can see the context of their search results.
Detail of the search function.
The Mind Map is branded by Audi.
A free mobile application that allows users to take note of any inspiration they see throughout their day. Through writing a note...
Record a sound‌
Or taking a photo‌
They can generate a mood board at the end of each day or week based on their inspirations, which is also able to be posted online to share.
This application allows users to start the conversation through a prompt. Categories that can be voted upon range from the amusing to the serious.
And then they see where they fall in relation to the rest of the people taking the poll.
A tool that provides suggestions to drivers of the possibilities available. Do you want to test out the performance of your car? Its speed? See something interesting along the way? Or do you want to get lost? Also linked with the Mind Map, these suggestions are based on and tailored to your particular interests.
For example, say you want to get lost for a half hour or go somewhere new, this app shows you how to get there based on your time or distance preferences.
Why deal with a confusing index and bulky manual if you can search for the information you need more easily?
Such as how to replace your windshield wiper fluid.
The Curious Class also has to feel more welcome at the dealerships when they arrive.
So a dealer manual with information on their new customers was created, including a diagram on how to successfully execute an exploding fist pound.
Some questions need to be asked, no matter how ridiculous.
Since the Curious Class educates themselves before making an important decision, we designed “Anatomy of an Audi.� A series of books inspired by Zoo Books, these takeaways are to be given to those who test drive an Audi. They creatively show the engine, car features and other specs.
Post-testing comments.