2015 Winners & Shortlists

Results and Effectiveness

In 3 days, we successfully engaged with 110 unique prospects who had opted-in to drive the car. Using standard marketing activities (print, and digital) it would usually take McLaren three months to reach the same volume of leads. Over two days, 16 test drives were conducted each lasting 30 minutes+. To deliver this volume of test drives would usually take 4 weeks. Those people who could not drive the McLaren 650S on the days we ran the promotion were subsequently contacted by the dealer. We are rolling the activation out to Saudi Arabia later this year.

Creative Execution

We created ‘On Demand Test Drives’, a fully targeted, lead generating concept which utilized the latest technology to bring the new McLaren 650S directly to the door of prospect buyers. We partnered with Uber, a brand who share McLaren’s brand values of technology, innovation, and transportation. Top spenders living within highly affluent areas of Dubai were sent an Uber branded invitation and promo code which would allow them to request a test drive using the Uber interface. On the day of the test drive activation, three Uber branded McLaren 650S cars took to the streets of Dubai, driven by McLaren sales people who we’d trained as Uber drivers. On arrival to the prospects address they handed over the keys and took the passenger seat where they educated the prospective buyer about the cars unique performance. The test drive lasted around 30 minutes.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Issue: When you’re a small Supercar brand in a city dominated by Ferraris, how do you get your prospects to take notice and request a test drive? It’s not easy; particularly when your brand is only known for Formula One (not road cars) and you’re being out spent you 8:1. In late 2014, McLaren Automotive (the road car division of McLaren F1) asked us to help launch their new 650S Supercar in Dubai. Insight: McLaren buyers appreciated technology and innovation, and ‘firsts’ are inherently part of McLaren's racing DNA. Affluent prospective McLaren buyers expect services on their terms - however the current test drive process was inconvenient. Strategy: Stay true to the McLaren values of technology, innovation & firsts and turn the notion of test drives upside down. Remove the barriers for test drive by bringing the new McLaren 650S directly to the door of prospect buyers.