2019 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

The FIFA World Cup is one of the few events with the power to capture attention and interest from across the globe. And while the major brands with the massive media budgets dish out enormous sums for sponsorship rights, we had to find an interesting way into the conversation with a limited budget and zero sponsorship rights. Our answer lied in the product name itself, Q5x0. We created a direct marketing campaign that leveraged the attention and interest of the FIFA World Cup to raise the profile of INFINITI’s number 1 performance vehicle among our specific target audience, Luxury Aspirers.

Background.

The campaign was launched on the last day of The Holy Month of Ramadan and the first day of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, raising complications. The period of Ramadan is when every car maker competes for the best offers, unsurprisingly customers wait for them, so following Ramadan profits decline. To make matters worse, traditional media costs skyrocketed, our budget and exposure were nowhere close to the competitors’, and we had no official sponsorship. The Q50 is a core model for INFINITI, boasting both sporty design and powerful driving performance. A rejector study showed that people purchasing a sedan were choosing mainstream brands. The sedan-d segment, where the Q50 competes, was shrinking. We had to create a buzzworthy campaign and deliver quality leads, on a limited budget, during a period of inflated media prices with zero sponsorship rights to the World Cup.

Describe the creative idea.

We found creative inspiration in the heart of the product - the Q50’s name itself. And in so doing, we raised the Q50’s profile and celebrated extraordinary World Cup performances. After searching long and hard for an exciting creative edge, the team realized the answer was sitting right in front of them. Q5x0. With so much attention focused on scoreboards and national pride at stake, we made this the focal point of the campaign. We decided to give away a Q50 if any match ended in 5-0.

Describe the strategy.

We had to find a way to celebrate, applaud and bring to life incredible performances by linking the Luxury Aspirer interests and mindset, with the Q50, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Psychographic research into our target audience revealed that Luxury Aspirers have a higher degree of appreciation of exceptional performances and want to be recognized as someone who is at the top of their game. 85% state that success in a career is what makes their life valuable 78% state that they achieve so that people will appreciate and respect them 88% want to appear trendy & stylish Additionally, further psychographic research into the interests and activities of Luxury Aspirers revealed: 90% of the Luxury Aspirers enjoy challenging their friends on which football team would win World Cup matches. OUR INSIGHT: Luxury aspirers appreciate incredible performance in all aspects of life.

Describe the execution.

The conversation started on social with promoted posts on Facebook and Instagram explaining the contest. Additionally, we partnered with a network of influencers to help spread our message among luxury automotive enthusiasts. INFINITI was the first auto brand in MENA to sponsor a live-segment on Twitter with pre-rolls and branded segments to announce the Q5-0 competition. We partnered with a football publisher, Kooora, to create “The Battle of the Predictions”, which mimics audience behavior of indulging in football banter and predictions. Lastly, INFINITI sponsored the World Cup in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Jeddah to provide people with a premium and exclusive World Cup viewing experience, and the chance to win an INFINITI Q50. On the first match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the impossible happened. Russia defeated Saudi Arabia 5-0, and INFINITI gave away two brand new Q50’s. Contestant entries flooded in, as word spread of the Q5x0 promotion.

List the results.

The Infiniti Q5-0 campaign followed a two-pronged approach, firstly leveraging the association with the World Cup season to generate awareness and secondly, to drive consideration post the Ramadan sales period with leads/conversion KPIs. Given that the Automotive sales post-Ramadan are low and the World Cup period is dominated by volume brands, this was a challenging season to launch a campaign for a premium vehicle. INFINITI deployed a combination of efficient and unconventional media placements to drive communications effectiveness while having zero sponsorships right to the World Cup. Generating Product Awareness Campaign reach: Campaign reach exceeded 59M (11% higher than benchmark) Video views: Over 8M video views (40% higher than benchmark) Cost per view: Cost per view = 0.11 AED (31% more efficient than benchmark) Drive Conversions Total leads: Brochure downloads, requested quotes, test drives: 1,134 leads generated (24% higher than benchmarks)