For the 20th anniversary of Cayenne, Porsche needed to celebrate its best-selling SUV while tapping into its sports car heritage. Inspired by the personal insight that the biggest “thrills” are the ones that are shared, I crafted the global tagline, script and campaign architecture for the future of Cayenne.
Film, social, auto shows, dealer POSM, brochures, activations, influencers.
STORY/WORD: ADVENTURE
PROBLEM: Land Rover noticed a troubling trend. Copycat Chinese OEMs were ripping off their IP. And Chinese consumers—mostly urban, and unknowledgeable about LR heritage—didn’t know what the brand stood for: adventure.
SOLUTION: Our solution brought together the brand spirit of adventure with a powerful force from our brand research: kids. Most of LR’s TA and fans had or were planning to have kids. And kids were a driving force behind brand preference and purchase.
We partnered with WeChat to create an integrated digital brand campaign. And our heroes? The one group of people who shared Land Rover’s limitless imagination for adventure: kids.
Our campaign went viral on WeChat. We added giant OOHs at airports throughout the country, and our film was used as pre-roll in popular apps, video streaming platforms, and banner ads.
RESULTS:
VIDEO: 211M views, 110,000 engagements.
SOCIAL ACTIVATION: 44M views, 26,000 engagements.
LEADS: 6,087.
After 15 years, Cadillac’s growth and brand relevance were flatlining. Cadillac needed to leverage “dare / 敢” in a new IMC (social, experiential, broadcast, OOH, PR, etc.) to win fans, modernize the brand, and inspire dealers and owners.
We partnered with Chinese American Eileen Gu, the world-record-breaking free skier and fashion model, in an IMC that refreshed the American automaker’s brand perception as they launched their first EV product.
I led design of the campaign architecture across touchpoints and ATL film production. We were incredibly fortunate that Eileen Gu took home two golds and one silver at the 2022 BJ Olympics, given us the “golden” opportunity to amplify Cadillac’s new star, winning us a once-in-a-lifetime spike in brand relevance and affinity.
PROBLEM: Not all Land Rover “adventures” are the same. And not all Land Rovers, either. The Range Rover Evoque saved Land Rover from bankruptcy. And the China market was the global Evoque sales leader. But the Evoque also diluted the brand essence of “adventure” in the minds of Chinese consumers. Research showed that Chinese buyers chose Evoque because it was beautiful. But they didn’t know Evoque had the power, performance and capability for “adventure”. Our research further showed that brand dilution was a troubling long-term trend for LR/RR sales.
SOLUTION: Partner with a celebrity who was only known for being beautiful, but who stunned China with her performance in “Youth” by revealing another side to her character—her ability to perform as a dancer.
Our Evoque IMC with Elaine Zhong—focused on urban “adventure”— went viral on WeChat. Consumers shared, liked and commented on our film hundreds of thousands of times. Tens of thousands engaged with our WeChat game where they could select the outfit that Elaine Zhong would wear on her urban “adventures”. Winners won special branded items. Special test drivers were available at dealers. Then, we partnered with GQ for an exclusive interview and features amplified across their digital platforms.
RESULT: 127M views and 105,000 engagements in two days. Named #1 video of the day by 71% of 头条 (Tou Tiao) viewers. Evoque Landmark SEs sold out in three months.
PROBLEM: Jaguar was virtually unknown in China—the world’s largest and most crowded auto market. Jaguar needed to stand out and make noise. And they needed to build this excitement using the heart of the brand: performance.
SOLUTION: A performance stunt that would stun a nation, challenge science, and make an unforgettable impression: The Power Loop. We needed to use a full-throttle, gas-powered, roaring experience at the heart of an integrated 360 digital-driven campaign. And we needed to use a specific hero to do this: F-PACE, the brand’s first-ever SUV.
We partnered with China’s largest platforms (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Weibo) to create a digital-first campaign optimized for their ecosystems that leveraged big data to create compelling and sharable experiences for our TA—teases, influencers (KOLs), digital posters, films and a record-breaking stunt live-streamed throughout China.
We invited the biggest KOLs to the event, so they could livestream it with their fans. We created watch parties at Jaguar and Land Rover dealerships.
Ultimately, the Power Loop, however, was more than a campaign. It was an entertainment destination, constantly giving consumers intriguing, exciting content to keep Jaguar top of mind, highlighting brand heritage and showcasing F-PACE’s USPs.
RESULTS: 30M livestream views; 280M page views; Baidu (Chinese Google) search results +28%; Weibo (Chinese Twitter) #3 auto topic; 47,015 new leads (+75%) for our client; +13% sales increase; and a Silver Effie for our agency.
PROBLEM: The product redesign of Land Rover’s most iconic vehicle—The Discovery—was leading consumer to believe that the SUV’s new aerodynamic look meant it had traded its wild side (its DNA) and moved permanently to the city. Land Rover needed a way to excite consumers around Land Rover’s differentiating proposition that it was built for adventure … everywhere. The city. The mountains. The desert. Snow. Mud. Grass.
SOLUTION: An integrated social campaign to create digital experiences that brought to life The Discovery’s most technologically advanced tech performance and capability feature to prove that the SUV was the king of all terrains. How? Well, since this was a Land Rover DNA approach, we updated classic Land Rover communications heroes: animals.
We created a film that was shown across China’s social media channels, on streaming video platforms, in cinemas, in App pre-rolls, in elevators, in airports. Every place there was a digital touchpoint for our TA (based on research), we used the film (full length and cut down) to express Discovery’s wild side.
We then created an interactive social experience for WeChat, as well as OOHs using LR’s characteristic British wit.
We wanted Tom Ford. We wanted him badly.
I led the creative team for the Tom Ford x Lincoln China pitch, laying out how Lincoln and Tom Ford—two American luxury icons—together could define “American luxury” for a generation of affluent Chinese consumers. And I produced a mood edit to bring to life the tone and manner of the campaign.
A member of the Ford family pitched Tom and his agent directly. After a few weeks’ consideration, he passed. He was focused on his own China strategy. But he applauded the work.
Though it didn’t happen, I loved the excitement and the stakes, and creating an idea that could’ve been legendary.
During the pandemic, Volvo China wanted a new way to bring its brand story to life. We redefined aspirational from big dreams to every day moments, showing that it’s the little things that are the most luxurious.
This emotional warm-hearted approach was well received by local and global, but ultimately the client kept the account with GREY.
General Motors created the Durant Guild, a premium imports platform for China’s ultra-wealthy.
DG needed to launch with something sexy that would grab and hold your attention and provoke buy in to this exclusive club.
The halo vehicle? Not the EV Hummer—which frankly would’ve also been a great choice. Not Yukon. Not Tahoe. But the one and only legend: America’s iconic sports car: Corvette.
