There was a hard truth behind the brand. With cars like the Jimny, Suzuki resonated with quirky people, who didn’t take themselves or their cars too seriously. Suzuki owners are more likely to be ‘the fun one in the group’ who wanted something different to the status quo.

But while buyers of family cars are inundated with messages of efficiency, safety and technology; fun is rarely used when marketing a family vehicle.

It was something that Suzuki could legitimately own. With less driving tech at the wheel what stood out to Suzuki owners was just how entertaining they were to drive. Something also evidenced by the fact that 70% of test drives convert to a sale.

Our communications had to show just how fun Suzuki was, both as a brand and as a car to drive.

This wasn’t a campaign for 30” spots, posters, press and banners. We couldn’t do fun if we locked it away in the usual formats.

3 days of filming captured hours of footage featuring Ant, Dec and two Suzuki Vitara’s. From these we cut 10 short films. Over a series of 5 weeks we took two films each Saturday and teased them out on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube before airing them on ITV within key Saturday primetime family programming.

We saw social chatter grow throughout the afternoon prior to each episode of Saturday Night Takeaway. So we created our own 7-part exclusive online series – Suzuki’s Saturday Afternoon Takeover – which aired on Suzuki’s own social channels.

Our extensive licensing deal meant the fun lived off screen too, #SuzukiSaturdays was taken on a nationwide roadshow. Dealers jumped at the opportunity to embrace the antics on the shop floor.

The campaign was a marked departure for Suzuki, a brave alternative to the tradition media approach. But the results prove that when done right, content can drive conversion, even for high-ticket items:

• The sales rate for the Vitara rose by 38% during the campaign peak

• Suzuki car sales overall grew 14% vs. total automotive market growth 4% for the same period. Suzuki became the fasted growing UK car brand of 2016 (Source SMMT registration sales data)

• Vitara’s share of the SUV and Crossover segment rose by 26% over the campaign period.

• Positive opinion of Suzuki rose from 9% to 14% in only 3 months. (Source: The Nursery, Brand Tracking).

• Brand consideration reached 44% during the campaign, the highest it’s ever been. (Source: The Nursery, Brand Tracking)

• Voted joint second by National Franchised Dealer Association (NFDA), keeping company with Mercedes and Lexus.