Building a leadership brand in the premium automotive segment

Transcription

1 Building a leadership brand in the premium automotive segment Prism Awards 2018 Business to Business 16 February 2018

2 2 Statement of opportunity The challenger brand targeting a leadership position: distinction in an industry that races to the middle OUR CHALLENGE: Overcome the race to the middle. Create distinction and trust for Audi mother brand in segment that traditionally only engages motoring media about individual name plates Traditionally, Audi hasn t positioned itself as a brand with a significant PR presence outside of engaging motoring media about products and launches. BUT, a motoring brand pushing content to motoring media isn t exactly distinctive - especially in a cluttered premium segment that just seem to do the same thing. Opportunity to challenge conventional industry approach to communications. Introduce new content pillars and new owned engagement platforms OUR BRIEF: Change approach and launch an Audi corporate communications programme for the first time, manage the simultaneous introduction of a new market CEO For Audi this required a shift in gears. Our task was clear, establish an Audi corporate brand and leverage this corporate content to measurably contribute to a halo for Audi s brand in South Africa, not withstanding its smaller footprint and scale. What was key was to have the conversations among potential customers in the C-Suite, government and policy makers and the general premium consumer segment as a whole. Opportunity to be the voice and take the lead in sector-wide corporate communications - challenge convention where the only voices are Naamsa (around monthly sales) and an ad hoc annual update from the industry CEO currently chairing Naamsa OUR RESPONSE: Development of a strong opinion leadership and engagement programme, develop a new Audi narrative to bring Vorsprung to life in South Africa, develop owned platforms to be lead by key Audi SA executives Our response was to embrace the power of opinion and link this into strategically defined content pillars. This approach allowed Audi to manage its opinion within the context of its own business strategy to be the best premium brand in the local automotive market. We managed this effort using a combination of original local (80%) and global (20%) content. Opportunity to implement clear content anchors from which to drive how this story is told (and activated) in corporate and consumer environments. Develop strong leadership profile for new CEO for Audi in SA

3 3 Insight creation: Research We conducted formal qualitative research to ensure our work addressed the appropriate unmet need 20 Media 60 Minutes face to face interview 35 Focused questions per interview We conducted a full independent qualitative media audit. To gain further understanding of the responses, we assigned analytical nodes to the replies and allocated values. These were then processed to provide graphical representations of the opinions shared, giving us a qualitative understanding of media perceptions around the Audi brand in South Africa. Qualitative media audit Review of global and SA business strategies Conversation mapping and active listening Themes were mapped back to the global Audi brand strategy as well as the local business and marketing strategies. These were cross referenced to the outcomes of both audits and workshopped with client to create a content and engagement framework Using a senior data analyst we conducted analysis of all online themes and influencers, mapping these back to the results generated by the media audit. This allowed us to pivot and contextualise responses and themes. INNOVATION, AI AND AUTONOMOUS DRIVING FUNCTIONAL IN THE CONTEXT OF EMOTIONAL LOCALISED EVERYTHING ADDRESS HOW AUDI DRIVES PROGRESS

4 4 Insight creation: competitor and market analysis Competition in the segment required distinction for Audi Sustainable mobility (Toyota Earth Charter) emobility, sustainability and C02 reduction Sustainable mobility Zero emission mobility Sustainable mobility Much of the automotive sector corporate focus remains mobility. This is limited to global activity. For Audi there remains an opportunity progress this debate. South Africa s performance in World Economic Forum competitive rankings are negatively influenced by the innovation pillar specifically Opportunity for Audi to drive a specific conversation, relevant to its brand and society as a whole The question: What is the future of innovation? The answer: Audi The need to move from mobility to innovation Making innovation both rational and emotional Leading the answer to the future of innovation #drivingprogress Our industry is under pressure Our brand needs to be distinctive Our opportunity is clear 1. A Tough landscape: Significant strain on volumes Increased competitive focus on product (to drive even just incremental sales) 2. A Poor economic climate: Amplified buy down culture among consumers Upward pressure of pricing 1. Overcome the generic communications race to the middle : Bring Vorsprung to life in a meaningful and credible way, make it part of South Africa s story (clear story well told) Generate and provide the depth being demanded by media (not just motoring media) to drive word of mouth / reach Engagement and activation that drives influence of this story 1. Narrative: Defining a clear (compelling) story 2. Always-on content: Clear content anchors from where we can engage and build a consistent presence outside of product campaigns and launches 3. Thought leadership: Drive a trust halo for our nameplates by developing strong industry leadership credentials

5 5 Strategic approach and planning Opinion leadership is real thought leadership and a more effective corporate communications approach Objective 1: Define Narrative and Content Define our story (narrative) and map this to rich content, develop a clear leadership profile in always-on earned media programme Objective 2: Build Relationships of Value Grow the value of our relationships, increase our network and influence beyond the usual suspects Objective 3: Drive Leadership Platforms and Engagement Build and entrench our leadership credentials, support introduction of new market CEO on owned, shared and earned platforms Strong opinion bucks the trend by the C-Suite to embrace vanilla and avoid stakeholder pushback Output Input Narrative workshop (including client CEO and CMO) Audience segmentation and mapping of stories and content Segment research and active listening CULTURALLY RELEVANT NARRATIVE Messaging framework and long form narrative Capacity building (media training, messaging training) Dealer briefing materials Issues management escalation and responses Active listening, data and analytics programme Content calendars (local content) Content calendar (global content) OPINION BASED CONTENT Development of proof points to support Audi Agenda Development of hero content Audit of current engagement platforms and collateral ENGAGEMENT THAT IS INFLUENTIAL Development of owned platforms Participation in global Audi platforms and events

6 6 Strategic approach and planning Insights were used to map clear and measurable content anchors: more than an automotive brand selling cars Artificial intelligence Innovation Trust in our leadership Technology and Intelligent technologies Digitalisation of motoring Audi Intelligence E-tron Mobility behaviours Product Aftersales and service excellence The future of human connection Key business areas impacting automotive in SA and Africa including policy landscape Transport infrastructure and multi modal transport solutions Skills, transformation and BBBEE Industry 4.0 Rational Creativity Diversity Entrepreneurial spirit Emotional Quality Craft Design Defining our customer (understanding who the progressives are in South Africa) The role of personal freedom Car sales versus car usage Audi Sport My car in my life (enabling my dream) Supporting progressive behaviours in South Africa Brand experience

7 7 Implementation and execution Our work (over five months) focused on an earned and owned engagement effort July 2017 appointment of new CEO December 2017 Opinion based earned media Opinion leadership hero content Urban Mobility the key in facing the next automotive revolution Finding brand partnerships that make a difference Electrification of South African Automotive Industry Artificial Intelligence to push the future of mobility Better policy alignment will drive competitiveness from SA s automotive sector Outlook for 2018 automotive products trends Always-on content Appointment of new Head of Audi South Africa Audi initiative defines key terms for mobility in the city of the future Human robot cooperation: KLARA facilitates greater diversity of versions in production at Audi Audi Models with a solar roof: Car manufacture cooperates with Hanergy Audi launches Virtual Reality technology in dealerships New robot colleague in the assembly of Audi A4/A5 models Audi South Africa achieves big in 2017 as focus on best premium brand strategy is successfully being realised Owned platform development to drive amplification and engagement #Drivingprogress roundtable forums Current trends, challenges and opportunities in the global and South African automotive industry October - Audi SA product plan over the next 12 months with key focus on autonomous driving Amplification on Audi owned channels Sharing on Audi social channels (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) Evolution of LinkedIn into a blog based content hub Sharing on dealer based communications channels Audi Brand Summit Barcelona Leadership engagement with key media Technology writer - Arthur Goldstuck Technology influencer Aki Anastasiou Business Day Roy Cokayne Popular Mechanics Anthony Doman Destiny Man Thabiso Tema

8 8 Measurement and results Measuring what matters 14% 0% 13% 17% 43% 6% 11% Leadership Trust Innovation Artificial Intelligence Diversity 8% 62% B2B Technology Consumer 26% Entrepreneurship Creativity Special Operations Automotive METRIC WHAT WE CAN MEASURE WHAT WE WANT TO IMPACT VOLUME Reach and coverage values, regional and national segmentation Likeability TONE Sentiment Image (Prestige) MEDIA DIVERSITY Segmentation of media type (platform, corporate & consumer) Likeability Image TOPIC DIVERSITY Visibility of key messages and topics Image (Prestige) LEADERSHIP VISIBILITY Visibility of key spokespersons Likeability Image *Measurement tools: Pair Harvest Monitoring, Crimson Hexagon and Synthesio

9 9 Measurement and results R30-million in coverage generated over five months, 42- billion impressions generated, increased share of voice in line with 30% target benchmark* Brand Image (volume target, diversity of media) Brand Prestige (focused topic structure, diversity of topic) Brand Likeability (tonality and share of voice) Increased thought leadership drives trust Increasing dominance over mobility conversations and themes Content pillars support targeted awareness Content focus creates impact: Audi brand demonstrates most potential reach as compared to MB and BMW Audi dominates innovation conversation Visible leadership drives credibility Competitive share of voice increased 26 -> 29% Dominant positive tonality supports increase in reputation and likeability Overwhelming positive impact on tone (trust) The results are taking root: Audi is increasingly becoming an industry voice *Measurement tools: Pair Harvest Monitoring, Crimson Hexagon and Synthesio

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11 Thank you Questions?