2012 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

Smart car communication has been absent in the Lebanese market for almost 5 years now. As a result, smart is no longer a part of the consideration list when buying a new car, which has increasingly affected sales. The objective was to re-launch smart and position it as the ideal city car among young executives. With a limited budget. Young locals face heavy traffic, parking problems and ambiguous street names. With this in mind, the idea was to rediscover Beirut in a smart fortwo. A competition was developed, where selected participants got the car and an iPhone for 3 days each. And through a geo-tagging smart app, share their experiences onto the smart-Lebanon Facebook page. With the incentive of owning the car for 6 months. As a result, 422 new locations were unlocked. More than $15,000 worth of free media was generated. The page received more than 32,000 active users from 16 cities worldwide. An average of 2,200page interactions/day. Compared to 2010, smart car sales increased by 54%. The Unlock Beirut Map was recently launched - updated by smart drivers - that pinpoints-consumer generated shortcuts, parking spots and landmarks for everyone to use online or on the go.

The Brief

The goal of the campaign was to re-launch smart and position it as the ideal city car among young executives. The smart fortwo is the ideal city car due to its convenient size, unmatched safety features, unique design and incredible fuel efficiency. In order to target the youth, research was conducted on how and where to reach them. Young locals are explorers, additionally, they are online and they tend to trust their peers rather than advertising.

Results

As a result, more than 400 new locations were unlocked. More than $15,000 worth of free media was generated. The page received more than 32,000 active users from 16 cities worldwide. With an average of 2,200page interactions/day. Compared to 2010, smart car sales increased by 54%. The Unlock Beirut Map was recently launched - updated by smart drivers - that not only gives you street names, but also, pinpoints-consumer generated shortcuts, parking spots and landmarks for everyone to use online or on the go.

Execution

UnlockBeirut.com was launched, a URL linked to Facebook, featuring a one-month long competition, looking for 18 young locals who could unlock the city. 100s of people applied in the first week. Everyone wanted to share his or her Beirut secrets. The selected participants were chosen on 1) how active they are on social media, 2) Their friend count and participation on Facebook and 3) if they have a valid drivers license. The campaign ran according to the original plan, until participants started generating enough noise for the media to pick up. At this point, bigger plans were set in motion, where a completely new map, a first of its kind was generated, that not only gives you street names, but also, pinpoints consumer generated shortcuts, parking spots and landmarks. The map is exclusively updated by smart car drivers, yet open for everyone to use online or on the go.

The Situation

Smart car communication has been absent in the Lebanese market for almost 5 years now. As a result, smart is no longer a part of the consideration list when buying a new car, which has increasingly affected sales.

The Strategy

Consumers were given the opportunity to rediscover Beirut in a smart fortwo. A competition was developed, where selected participants got the car and an iPhone for 3 days each. And through a geo-tagging smart app, share their discoveries and experiences online. With the incentive of owning the car for 6 months.