Because Chevrolet found a way to take a stand over responsible use of cars while connecting with people, making use of their sponsorships on 2 of the biggest soccer teams in Latin America, to earn media in a day that isn’t supposed to be a strong day for an automotive brand: World Car Free Day.

Traffic congestion is a serious problem in Latin America that is likely to escalate in the future. Last year 4.3 million more units were sold in the region compared with 2017, while car sales in Chile increased by 12%*.

Meanwhile, Ecuadorian cities are topping the charts in terms of traffic on a global level, combining in over 340 hours lost in congestion**. This scenario makes more difficult the coexistence between different means of transport in the cities.

The brief was to create, with a very limited budget, an idea aligned with our global positioning "Find New Roads" to put this issue on the table and start the conversation.

*JATO, Global Car Sales by Region. February 21, 2019.

**INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard.

Chevrolet sponsors 2 of the biggest soccer teams in Latin America: Universidad de Chile (Chile) and Liga Deportiva de Quito (Ecuador).

On World Car Free Day, the brand removed its iconic logo from the player’s jerseys of both teams and replaced it with the icon of a bicycle, in their respective official matches, that were transmitted by TV, radio and online platforms, where commentators and people through social media noted, mentioned, and celebrated the change.

And then the media amplified the message, explaining why the change was made.

The key message was: on World Car Free Day, Chevrolet encourages people to use the bicycle and other means of transport.

The target audience was, firstly, Chevrolet owners, car owners, the governments of Chile and Ecuador, pro sustainability groups, the media and the public opinion in general.

Chevrolet sponsorships in this two soccer teams were considered the most powerful medium to reach all the targets since football is still the most interesting and viewed sport*. Also, Latin American fans surpass those from other regions in terms of pride and participation, and in terms of brand appeal, 55% of them believe that football sponsorship improves the image of a brand**.

Additionally, players from both teams were selected according to their social media presence.

*Nielsen Sports DNA survey, 2017.

**Havas Sports & Entertainment FANS.PASSIONS.BRANDS study, 2015.

The day before World Car Free Day, players from both teams (David Pizarro, Felipe Seymour and from U. de Chile and ) used social media to urge fans to leave their cars at home.

On the day, the two teams lined up on the pitch and played their games, both valid for their national football leagues, wearing the bicycle icon on their chests: Universidad de Chile vs. Universidad de Concepción in Concepción, Chile; and Liga Deportiva de Quito vs. Barcelona de Guayaquil in Quito, Ecuador.

The two matches were transmitted through live TV, radio, online, and the media noted the logo change and talked about it. People in social media reacted asking why and celebrating the change.

Days later, the commemorative jersey continued appearing in media stories about the matches.

Media Outputs:

· +100 media stories generated

· +25 million media impressions, equivalent of US$1 million in paid media.

Target Audience Outcomes:

· 73% positive mentions in social media

Business Outcomes:

· The Government of Chile, through Secretary of Transport Luis Alberto Stuven even used the jersey of Universidad de Chile as a symbol to support National Car Free Day.