The Corvette’s signature front-engine design was part of the car’s DNA since its inception in 1953. For 2020, it was making a dramatic shift to a mid-engine configuration, a design widely adopted among European competitors because it maximizes weight distribution, center of gravity and traction.

A mid-engine Corvette represented the most radical transformation in its long, storied history. This change was critical to help appeal to a generation that places a premium on technology and is more inclined to favor European brand supercars.

While the all-new Corvette was designed to be superior to the previous models, the potential for fans to reject it based on preconceived notions was high. If there was any suggestion among fans and media that Chevrolet had ruined its most iconic vehicle, or simply followed in the footsteps of its European competition, the launch would fail.

We leveraged a little-known truth about the Corvette, something only the most die-hard enthusiasts and owners might know. The Corvette’s founding father, Zora Arkus-Duntov’s original vision for the car was always a mid-engine configuration.

Knowing the idea of Corvette’s “destiny achieved” must be locked in before the launch, we came out of the gate early with high-energy, fan-engaging executions that drove that idea home to the public and influential media, so that all would understand and accept that Corvette was finally becoming what it was always destined to be. That way, by the time the car was revealed, attention would be focused on Corvette’s engineering, design features, horsepower and low, eye-opening price tag.

Our strategy was to devise and deploy a news campaign to create buzz and suspense leading up to our global earned media reveal in July. Teaser videos with hidden clues and rare historical photos would be shared with media and posted on social and digital channels. Later, we planned to release a “decoder” video to unpack the clues (embedded Zora references and mid-engine prototypes). These videos would confirm the shift from front- to mid-engine and reinforce our “destiny achieved” storyline.

Storytelling efforts would continue with a cadenced drumbeat of news across Chevrolet’s media, digital, social and CRM channels. Concurrently, we planned to engage key media in a strategic embargo plan across print, digital and broadcast to allow early and behind-the-scenes access to the vehicle and high-level executives. Pre-seeded storytelling with key automotive, lifestyle and national broadcast outlets would help secure deep and varied storylines at time of reveal.

On July 18, 2019, the new Corvette made its dramatic global debut in front of 1,400 reporters, celebrities, dealers, car clubs and enthusiasts at the reveal event in Southern California. As Corvette executives on stage described the vehicle, augmented reality was used to highlight its mid-engine configuration. Additionally, the global webcast included a lower-third crawl detailing important vehicle news announcements, which drove conversation to Twitter, where we replied with never-before-seen photos and videos.

At time of reveal, embargoed stories in lifestyle and auto media began to appear, providing deep technical insights about the radical new design and shift to mid-engine. Media and consumers talked about the new look, compared it to Ferrari, called it a supercar and engaged in spirited conversations.

Our consumer and PR launch approach ignited record levels of enthusiasm with media, influencers and social media, driving high demand of pre-orders for the all-new Corvette.

Our livestreamed press conference saw 291,000 unique viewers in over 140 countries

1,500+ broadcast clips with 46.9 million in potential viewership

3,200+ online and print articles with 51.1 million estimated earned reach

Homepage placement on Associated Press, Yahoo, CNET, Esquire and more

A top discussion thread on Reddit (the 6th largest and most trafficked website in the U.S.)

#5 Top U.S. Trending Twitter topic

22.5 million total impressions across Chevrolet’s owned channels during the reveal event

37,000 pre-orders on Chevrolet.com, surpassing the entire first-year sales of Corvette’s previous generation model