Is it possible to sell 200 cars months before they reach the dealerships and in the midst of the economic crisis? Yes.We achieved a total of 205 sales (10% of the Q5’s total during 2008) when the automotive market was down by 40%.All of it thanks to 200,000 visits to the campaign’s website and 2,300 collected registrations that resulted in 352 pre-reservations. The second stage generated 936 requests for a Test Drive.Yes, there are car hunters out there.

How to face the launch of one of Audi’s most expensive models during the worst economic crisis in history?The Audi Q5, the new urban SUV from Audi, was being launched into the market at the end of the year. We decided to go on the offensive. We started, in April, a campaign of pre-reservations focused on achieving sales six months before the launch.But who pays 3,000 € for a car they haven’t seen? How to find him? And above all, how to pique, and then keep, his interest without pictures and without the car being in the dealership?

SUVs have traditionally been talked about as all terrain vehicles, but we wanted to communicate their real use: As vehicles that never really leave the city. Five cities were chosen for their capacity to challenge the Q5.Once they had registered on the website, the users became hunters and chose the story they wanted to follow for the “search and capture of the new species”. Once captured, the story kept in touch, emotionally, with the new client, through mailing, e-mailing and text messages, until he took possession of the Q5.Isn’t that how species evolve?

The Q5generis are a new and elusive species. We invited users to hunt one down in several of the world’s cities: Beijing, Reikjavíc, Madrid, San Francisco and Montecarlo.To find the hunters, we created a strategy aimed at clients and prospects: Mailings and e-mailings, a powerful online campaign, press, and actions in social networks.Those hunters who made a pre-reservation became the main characters in their own story, getting e-mail and text messages from the other characters. In the end, they received at home a print from a prestigious artist, from a run of 300, exclusive to the campaign.