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Campanie
JM
Mercedes-Benz Romania is lead in Romanian automotive, being the number #1 in the premium segment in the CEE, according to the past years’ sales results. The company closed the year 2015 as leader in all the segments of the comparative market (premium cars; medium and large vans; trucks; buses and coaches above 12m). Moreover, Mercedes-Benz is among the most wanted employers in Romania, as of 2015.

And there is no surprise to that: throughout these last years, Mercedes-Romania has been constantly investing in our country, starting with automotive technology, following and applying global trends, and ranging towards its core values put at the heart of everything the brands does.

It has thus gained awareness as a top brand in Romania, as it is increasingly obvious that customers are appreciating not only the state-of-the-art products, but also the direct investments put in the last years: cultural programs and sustainable partnerships that grow the status-quo of Romania (TIFF, The International Swimming Championships, Christmas Tree Gala, Business Magazine and Ziarul Financiar Gala, and ELLE party – just to name a few),

This brings us to 2017, the year when Mercedes-Benz needed to walk the extra mile and celebrate its long-lasting presence in Romania, It had to be done while working on its reputation level. Although the product territory had already been secured, now it was time to make something different and inspire the audience to perceive the brand as being „the best”, through a digital-driven campaign.

In other words, Mercedes-Benz was ready to stand out from the clutter and publicly carry its heraldry of an active Romanian partner. The brief was to create the first local Brand Campaign ever made by Mercedes-Benz in Romania, and shift the perception from the product awareness to its undeniable reputation.

Having said that, the first challenge was to emphasize the partnership Mercedes-Benz has created with Romania, and have people focus on the brand itself. The second: to develop the campaign around the brand’s core values: excellence, success, ambition and performance. And all this in a relevant manner for a broad audience that may have not been an active part of the target until now.
General Information:
Strategy:
Strategy: We started with a question: what does it really take for someone to become the best?

And the answer came quickly, thanks to the value DNA of Mercedes-Benz Romania. Being the best means being performant (the essence of the best), innovative & creative (the means of getting to the top), and passionate about what you encounter (having a higher purpose for everything one does).

We wanted to develop a campaign about the Mercedes-Benz virtues, meant to be perceived as a Romanian legacy of long-term partnerships. The campaign had to convey honesty, decency and brilliancy, as seen through the eyes of the best.

However, in a social context where valuable Romanians are prone to look for better life/career opportunities abroad, creating a value-driven campaign that speaks to a heavy mass of people was becoming a true challenge.

This brought us to the strategic insight: the most efficient way to encourage people find their best is by leading by example. And this is exactly what Mercedes-Benz does: it drives you towards the best!

Even though our followers have had already found the key ingredients to be their best version, they needed some encouragements to rise to the occasion and truly become “the best or nothing”, which is also the brand’s mantra. Everyone needs a mentor in order to reach new heights!

We started from local media consumption insights (Proprietary Kaleidoscope Proximity Research; data collected statistically relevant in January 2016, 18-54, Romania): 4/5 Romanians spend, on average, 2hours & 30 minutes on YouTube, 70% of white collars used the internet in the last 7 days on their mobile devices to access YouTube & 88% of them Facebook, and 79% of blue collars used the internet in the last 7 days on their mobile devices to access YouTube & 91% of them Facebook. Moreover, Romanians are in love with TV content (6 hours/day – the average Romanian’s TV consumption rate); therefore, we had a clear image of what will truly ring the bells of Romanians: quality video content that speaks to them and the possibility of taking a bigger part in what the brand has to say.

This led to the strategic approach: to build a content-based campaign, centered on how the Mercedes-Benz values are embodied in some of Romania’s most appreciated personalities.

In short, we wanted to pass on the legacy of being the best through the power of example. And we have done this by creating the 1st Romanian online show that put the audience in the shoes of the best, through a mentorship meet-up.
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