Henry Rollins, a man who has lived through his own evolution of tough came to Australia to discover how toughness has evolved.

Driving across Australia talking to professional sports stars, musicians, politicians and everyday Aussies.

His interviews and observations were used to create ‘Tough Conversations’ an integrated, content driven campaign that includes a podcast series, social and online content, and a one-hour documentary.

Not an obvious choice for Mercedes-Benz but Henry’s interview prowess, endless curiosity and contradictory nature (rugged exterior/deep thinker) made him the perfect spokesperson to announce a new way of thinking and new type of toughness, driving through the harsh terrains of Australia also gave the X-Class centrestage throughout the campaign.

After we announced Henry arrival to Australia, we invited to local media to interview him at the start and during his journey. We then had two full media days in Melbourne and Sydney after.

This strategy meant we could build hype and build a social media throughout his roadtrip.

Local journalists met Henry and the interviewees, which built more awareness and excitement about the campaign. It gave local farmers and tradesmen (the traditional ute market) a chance to see the X-Class and talk positively about the product as well as the audience to engage in the evolution of tough messaging.

Over two full days of media in Melbourne and Sydney, Henry was interviewed by national media in TV, print and radio and gave his own personal account of what driving the ute and meeting Australians along the way was like, which added credibility and lead to more positive media.

Tier 1:

There were 85 pieces of positive coverage about the campaign across print, online TV and radio as well as national and regional coverage. The story was picked up by mainstream general news media, entertainment, current affairs and motoring journalists.

Tier 2:

We saw a clear shift in social media sentiment about the X-Class and Henry’s involvement as a spokesperson, when we announced the campaign people were skeptical about Henry’s involvement. After it began that sentiment started to shift and by the time we finished our journey the most well read and respected motoring journalists in Australia said “a genius move... one of the smartest brand partnerships I’ve ever seen.”

Tier 3:

There was a clear call to action included in coverage for people to go to the X-Class website to “follow the journey” - this helped drive people to register their interest for the X-Class. Once the podcasts became available, that message changed to include a call to action, “listen to the podcast”- this helped make the Tough Conversations podcast #1 in Australia. The final call to action prompted the audience to watch the documentary. A video trailer, plus the surrounding hype and media appearances on television and radio led to a major network in Australia, Network Ten, airing the full length documentary in primetime.

No matter where Australians went, there was a Tough Conversations to be heard, contributing to the 9800+ people who registered their interest for the X-Class.

Punk-rock icon-cum-social commentator Henry Rollins hosted the Tough Conversations documentary and podcast series, a journey to challenge the out-of-date stereotypes often used to represent toughness.

Rollins is a recognised voice in Australia, having visited 40 times over his career. This campaign increased Henry’s PR value as it allowed media to connect with Rollins in a new light.

Speaking to Australians including world champion surfer, Mick Fanning, and rapper Adam Briggs further increased the campaign’s PR value.

PR was core to the campaign pre, during and after the journey, allowing Australians to engage with Tough Conversations every step of the way.

Targeting predominantly males 35-59 year olds who are upgrading from existing utes and mid-range SUVs. They live an active lifestyle and could use the ute for recreation, not just the stereotypical workhorse, but cannot relate to any of the communications in the category.

Generating national PR in contemporary media outlets was the prime target. Coverage was achieved in each of the most high valued publications, and with the key talent, including:

The Project with Lisa Wilkinson - Australian television’s highest rating talent.

HuffPost Australia - A credible source amongst a progressive Australian audience.

The Australian and The Deal magazine - feature interview.

Syndicated news coverage in Australia’s most read daily news publication (News Corp)

National radio (Triple M)

PR was generated upon Henry’s arrival in Australia (national major newspaper and national current affairs television), along the journey (local news, radio), and at the conclusion (two days of media interviews).

Situation:

Australia is the most competitive ute market in the world. There are over 146,000 utes sold per year in Australia and over 14 model lines. The Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger are the top 2 vehicles sold in Australia across all automotive categories.

When Mercedes-Benz first announced the arrival of the new X-Class, Australians were sceptical and unsure of how Mercedes-Benz, who are known for their premium vehicles, would go at producing a ute that’s stereotypically known as Australia’s workhorse.

Brief:

Develop a pre-launch campaign for the X-Class and emotionally prime Australians with a unique and memorable take on a tough ute.

Objectives:

Generate more than 7,000 leads before the official launch of the X-Class.