2011 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

Nissan Patrol hasn’t changed its design in several years. It wasn’t seen as luxurious – just a sturdy off-roading vehicle. But the new design is much more luxurious than any other SUV in its class, while still maintaining its off-roading roots. Nissan research has shown that current SUV owners are more likely to buy a new SUV than non-SUV owners. And from Arabian Automobiles’ past experience, test drives are the best way to drive sales. We knew that if we could get other SUV owners into the vehicle, it would do more than any print ad or sales brochure could.

Creative Execution

We knew we had to target other SUV owners. We knew where to find them. And we knew that a test drive was all it needed to put the new Nissan Patrol into their consideration set. Having shooting permits and police permissions also helped. (And as far as we know, it’s never been done before.)

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

We “forced” other SUV owners to test drive the new Patrol. On different days at different parking lots in Dubai, we blocked other SUVs by parking the new Patrol behind them. Then we left a note requesting them to move the vehicle. Once inside, they started the vehicle and a CD automatically played a special message. The message apologized for the inconvenience, explained the features and invited them to sign up for a real test drive.

Results

At the end of the message, drivers were offered a CD that contained Patrol brochures and videos. After their mini test drive, we invited them to sign up for a longer test drive. On average, 7 out of 10 respondents did, including drivers of Toyotas, Jeeps and even Range Rovers who are known to never consider a Patrol. (This doesn’t include the woman who called the police or the angry man who beeped the horn for 10 red-faced minutes.) We’ll be repeating the stunt over more weekends until the end of April, to amortize costs and maximize the investment.