SITUATION

How do you create a car that never dies? Everything eventually has its end, whether it is the engine or the paint that makes the treasured item bright and shiny. Unless you create a custom curated 1:1 of a car that is to live forever in the Metaverse.

BRIEF

As Lamborghini is on the move to go fully electric by 2023/2024, we were tasked to develop a brand experience that marks the end of a legacy-rich era, but celebrate a new one driven by digital innovation.

OBJECTIVES

1. Create a car that would live infinitely, whilst encapsulating the themes of creativity and powerful storytelling.

2. Captivate a new market segment of non-traditional Supercar enthusiasts eg. younger high net wealth, younger tech audience, Crypto enthusiasts.

3. Drive global media attention and reposition Automobili Lamborghini from a traditional Supercar brand, to one that is at the forefront of digital innovation.

How do you create a car that never dies? Everything eventually has its end. This is unless you create a custom curated 1:1 of a car that is to live forever in the Metaverse.

As the Automobili Lamborghini factories closed to focus on their 100% delivery of electric cars by 2023/2024, the creative idea was to create the world’s first 1:1 NFT Supercar as a physical and digital collaboration that would stamp a moment in time - immortalising Lamborghini’s past, whilst electrifying its future.

Artists Steve Aoki and Krista Kim were brought in to create a car that would signify the intersection of music, entertainment, and cutting edge technology. The car was auctioned through auction powerhouse RM Sotheby’s, and was also the first supercar to ever be featured in Mars House. This project embodied an integrated brand experience, utilising social, digital, and physical platforms, as well as Web3 technologies.

Target audience:

Supercar enthusiasts, those that are far from the traditional - from those with a younger high net wealth, to a younger tech audience, to Crypto enthusiasts.

Approach:

The campaign was delivered in four multi-channel stages:

1) The Leak (Intrigue): Collaborators were invited to promote the campaign film, logo teaser, and announcement teaser. Decentralised metaverse BZAR (marketplace.bazar.com) launched a micro-site as a marketplace to experience the NFT project.

2) The Launch (Excite): The launch was announced on several platforms, from the Auction House Lot Page, further announcements from the collaborators, Twitter Chats, Paid Media, and seeding an existing email database.

3) Auction (Invite): Collaborators promoted the auction with Drop announcements through social media platforms. Media interviews with the press, and engagement with the existing Lamborghini database also promoted the auction.

4) Post-Auction (engage): Exclusive media interviews and a global newsletter from the Auction House (Sotheby’s) promoted the post-auction engagement.

Implementation:

The Lamborghini Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae Coupé exclusive 1:1 was brought to life by Krista Kim who created the visual artwork with signature gradients, and Steve Aoki who consulted on the design of the NFT, and created a custom-developed soundtrack. This was delivered in four phases (Leak, launch, auction, post-auction) through a multi-media channel approach.

Media channels and integration:

1. RM Sotheby's - auction house

2. Bzar.com - Decentralised metaverse

3. Mars House - world's first digital home

5. Collaborator social channels

6. Public relations, social and influencer partnerships reaching a global audience of over 500MM+

7. Auction winner VIP meet and greet to the auction winner at Lamborghini's HQ in Italy with Krista and Steve.

Timeline:

21st March 2022 - 22nd April 2022

Scale:

Global reach across key markets of USA, Canada, China, Macau, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Middle East, Singapore, Australia, Italy, UK, Germany, India, France

1. A final auction price of $1.6M, placing the purchase price in the top 10 Lamborghinis ever sold

2. 300+ Global Editorial Placements

3. Advertising equivalent of $5.18M

4. 8492 unique visits to auction page

5. 4.65M Social Reach Impressions

Brand perception and change in behaviour:

From Drive magazine: Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann confirmed to US media the company had already sold out its entire allocation for 2023, with wait times for a new Lambo stretching well into 2024. Originally a purchase only affordable to a small portion of aspirational buyers, this project also marked the beginning of an era in which Lamborghinis became more accessible to the global community, with loyalists given the opportunity to purchase unique digital NFT Lamborghini models during an era of hybridization.

Global reach across the key markets ran across 230 editorial placements, delivering 587 million social media impressions.