In the French automotive market, Škoda is often in the shadow of domestic brands like Peugeot, Renault and Citroën that share amongst themselves nearly half of the market.

Unlike these brands, Škoda isn’t present in top-of-mind considerations. This limits the brand’s presence during the purchase consideration phase and negatively impacts its sales at the end of the funnel.

The challenge was to get the New Škoda Fabia on the radar and make it emerge as a serious alternative to its competitors.

To get the Škoda Fabia on the radar and make it emerge as a serious alternative, Škoda targeted test drive videos of key competing models produced by automotive Youtubers and partnered with them to re-upload them with 3D billboards for the model inserted throughout the edits.

More than 70 unique posters promoting the Fabia were designed for the campaign, tied directly to key moments in the reviews and harmoniously integrated next to the competing models.

Within the automotive path to purchase, 80% of buyers watch test drive videos, product demos or opinion vlogs to gain information on the models. Specialized influencers become essential prescribers for consumers and potential buyers. Consumers often trust them more than the brands themselves.

Due to its lack of consideration, the New Škoda Fabia is rarely searched for by potential buyers and videos about it aren’t widespread.

The operation invited the New Škoda Fabia in video reviews of star competing models that generate more traffic. The assets were first released as influencers re-uploaded their edits with our billboards. Their communities discovered the stunt and brought attention to it. Škoda then released the reveal of its social platforms.

Co-constructed with automotive YouTubers, Škoda modified existing video reviews of competing models: the Renault Clio, the Peugeot 208 and the Citroën C3, and added advertising billboards for the new Škoda Fabia.

They first revealed the operation on the native platforms of the partner automotive influencers. The posts were crafted with respect for their editorial line and upheld usual content queues to generate interest among their communities.

An amplification strategy was orchestrated to generate further engagement among the general public through media, RP and influence channels.

In total, 110 minutes of content were hacked with more than 70 unique billboards.

The campaign got widespread appeal on Škoda platforms totallng 9.1M overall impressions on social media, with a 31% increase in engagement on twitter. 1.9M video views across all campaign assets, 927K interactions on social media publications in a total media and production budget below 40K€ overall.

Most importantly, test drives booked increased by 19% in the month following the campaign allowing sales of the Škoda Fabia to increase by 10% (1).

Sources:

(1) Internal Škoda sales figures