Title	MAZDA OPEN AIR B&B
Brand	MAZDA
Product/Service	MAZDA MX-5
Category	A09. Launch or re-launch
Entrant Company	THESE DAYS - WUNDERMAN Antwerp, BELGIUM
Advertising Agency	THESE DAYS - WUNDERMAN Antwerp, BELGIUM
Media Agency	MINDSHARE Brussels, BELGIUM
Production Company	PLUG&PLAY Boortmeerbeek, BELGIUM

Name	Company	Position
Jolien Tuyteleers	These Days - Wunderman	Concept copywriter
Kate Bellefroid	These Days - Wunderman	Art Director
Sam De Volder	These Days - Wunderman	Executive Creative Director
Gio Canini	These Days - Wunderman	CEO
Tom Thijs	These Days - Wunderman	Account Manager
Seppe Dogge	These Days - Wunderman	Account Executive
Toon Diependaele	These Days - Wunderman	Chief Strategy Officer
Tallita Ortiz de la Torre	These Days - Wunderman	Strategic Planner
Karen Vranken	These Days - Wunderman	Senior Designer
Sander De Smedt	These Days - Wunderman	Interactive Designer
Sven Lemmens	These Days - Wunderman	Front-End Developer
Joachim Sas	Mazda	Brand Manager
Matthias Sileghem	Mazda	General Manager
Bert Callens	Mazda	Digital Expert
Steven Witpas	Mazda	Coördinator P/A
Ben Seys	Mazda	Product Manager

The Campaign

With the launch of a new model car brands want their target audience to get the full driving experience, organizing as many test drives as possible. But a lot of people need an extra nudge to take the step to subscribe for a test drive. So instead of test drives we offered test trips. A trip to our custom Mazda Open Air B&B with the same feature that made the car special: a retractable roof. During the day potential buyers could enjoy their drive and in the evening the outdoor experience continued. Our different approach allowed us to break out of the obvious car magazines, as the story of a convertible car with it’s own convertible Open Air B&B was also interesting for lifestyle and travel media. The perfect place to meet our target group.

The Brief

Generate as many test drives on the hedonists among us, our potential buyers, and give them an unforgettable experience with the new MX-5. And in the meantime expand the target potential buyers to a younger generation.

Execution

The vacation experience was also brought to life online by building a custom made bed and breakfast, complementary to the design of the MX-5 complete with a retractable roof, just like the car. Instead of creating the usual car product page, the MX-5 was launched through a booking website. People could check availabilities and book a test trip while discovering highlights of the roadster. Our different approach allowed us to break out of the obvious car magazines, as the story of a convertible car with it’s own convertible Open Air B&B was also interesting for lifestyle and travel media. The perfect place to meet our target group.

• The MX-5 generated more test drives bookings (1563) in one month then all the models of Mazda together in 7 months (1360 bookings) • 130% of the year’s target was sold in only 2 weeks time after the official sales launch. • The sales KPI given by Mazda EU to Mazda Belgium for the MX-5 launch was exceeded by more than 1000%.

The Strategy

The MX-5 is an iconic car of the year 1989 and is now mainly popular among the generation that grew up with the car: generation X. With this campaign we wanted to make the car stand out for a younger target group: generation Y. Without losing our slightly older die hard fans. To speak to both audiences we investigated the need that generation x and y both share in their often busy lives: the need to enjoy life, to seize the day. They don’t just enjoy the destination but also trip there. We wanted to extend the holiday feeling you get when driving with the MX5 into the campaign.