2016 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

#TheOneToFollow was an Instagram-based PR campaign that communicated the 2015 X-Trail’s superior features. Through the program, we broke through the clutter and connected with our audience in an engaging and authentic way. We identified six of the UAE’s most influential Instagram bloggers whose platforms we wanted to leverage for two reasons: 1. These bloggers create amazing content; they capture moments worth sharing. 2. Their audience is our audience: Our bloggers’ followers and the X-Trail’s target demographic are one and the same – young, hip, and on Instagram. Each of these bloggers was given a 2015 X-Trail (before it was publicly available) and sent on a one-of-a-kind road trip that took that took them on an all-terrain journey through beaches, mountaintops, and through sandy deserts. During the trip, they competed against one another by sharing their experiences with their followers. Every time our Instagrammers received a strategically chosen "trigger word" (adventure, X-Trail, wow, exciting, road trip) in their comments, they earned points. The more interaction from their followers, the more points they received. Essentially, we had the top Instagrammers incentivized to generate positive sentiment amongst followers by doing what they do best – sharing awesome content throughout their journey! With master content creators (our participant bloggers) genuinely communicating the benefits of the Nissan X-Trail (our message) to their loyal followers (our target demographic), we created and executed a PR campaign that was truly genuine and one that leveraged the trust our influencers had built with their followers.

The Brief

Our key objectives were two fold 1) Create awareness about the new Nissan X-Trail launch amongst a young, adventurous target audience and 2) Develop an association between the X-Trail and innovative and exciting words, deepening positive sentiment around the car. We cstrategically selected our influencer participants with their respective audiences in mind. We weren’t simply looking for influencers with a high following, but more importantly, a relevant following.

Execution

The PR plan was effective in the UAE (our target market) for a total of the six-hour road-trip. This short timeframe incentivized our influencers to get competitive fast! Once our Instagrammers had their personalized X-Trail keys in their hand, they set off on their journey following the directions we provided. At each stop, they were required to capture a memorable moment to share with their followers. Through their unique and engaging images, the Instagrammers worked to solicit the highest number of positive conversation and “trigger” words from their followers. For each trigger word they received, points were awarded. The prize? We provided the Instagrammer wit h the highest number of points at the end of their journey with a Nissan X-Trail for 6 months!

We targeted consumers in the top-half of the purchase funnel - Awareness, opinion and consideration. However, within six hours, our audience on both owned (Nissan) and earned (influencer) channels quickly moved down the funnel towards positive preference. In just six hours we organically reached 1.8 million people, and generated 25,000 social media interactions. Nissan’s Instagram handle saw a 32% organic increase in followers. Most exciting, however, was that the campaign generated thousands of comments (19,000 overall) in which followers exclaimed brand advocacy by utilizing our carefully selected trigger words.Ultimately, we successfully positioned Nissan as a brand that is innovative and exciting: ? "Wow amazing! Please let's take a road trip adventure when I come! Love the X-Trail." ? "Wow Natalya. Love this! The X-Trail looks so cool and the colour is gorgeous. Hopefully we can go on an adventure in it soon?? I'm thinking an exciting desert roadtrip. Watch out for camels!!"

The Strategy

"Innovation that Excites" is Nissan's lifeblood and with the 2015 X-Trail, Nissan had created a best-in-class vehicle that lived up to their promise. We needed a launch experience that would trigger excitement too. So we turned Instagram into a gaming platform for the first time ever in the Middle East. Incentivizing our influencers to post content around the X-Trail, positioned them as advocates of the brand and further tapped into their strong followership for added amplification. Through their countless posts, not only did they create unique and engaging content for the X-Trail, but further, drove positive dialogue around the brand. Through #TheOneToFollow - an integrated campaign that communicated the X-Trail's superior features as compared to it's competitors - we broke through the clutter and connected with our audience in an engaging and authentic way.