Title	MISSION ASTRA
Brand	ADAM OPEL
Product/Service	OPEL ASTRA
Category	D03. Live Events
Entrant	UNIPLAN INTERNATIONAL Cologne, GERMANY
Idea Creation	UNIPLAN INTERNATIONAL Cologne, GERMANY

Name	Company	Position
Frederik Nimmesgern	Uniplan GmbH & Co. KG	Head of Concept Design
Wayra Pauwels	Uniplan GmbH & Co. KG	Junior Architectural Designer
Karsten Halbhuber	Uniplan GmbH @ Co. KG	Senior Architectural Designer

The Campaign

To celebrate the brand’s venturing to new spheres, we took the dealers on a very special mission. As “astranauts” they experienced the new Opel Astra in an unique world in the center of the spanish desert Sierra Nevada, far away from usual event locations and five star hotels. For this purpose we simply designed the appropriate backdrop and event location ourselves. 250 luxury bubble tents, fully equipped with shower, WC, sink and double bed, a 4,000 m2 dome and a race track form an inspiring backdrop in the style of a space station. A spectacular launch event scenario symbolising the brand’s new beginning, venturing to new spheres. The highlight: A stunning night in a bubble tent under the starry sky of the Spanish Sierra Nevada and the reveal show with the first appearance of the new Astra followed by several test drive experiences.

Creative Execution

“MISSION CONTROL CENTER”. The centrepiece of the event location is a circular show room with grandstand and an impressive 270° media display. This is where the “astranauts” explore the Astra universe. “THE MISSION BRIEFING” A 45-minute show prepared everybody for the Astra mission with all product features and innovations embedded in surrounding space flight animations. After the reveal a hidden door on the stage opens up to the race track for the “lift off” – the moment when the launch is celebrated with the start of the first test trips. “G-FORCE CHALLENGE” & “SPACE EXPEDITIONS”. In addition to several active driving excursions, the “astranauts” tested their own G-force resistance and the new IntelliLux LED matrix headlights on a night trip on the race track with professional drivers. “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED”. Evening celebration of the successful mission with a stunning view of the illuminated Astra launch base.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The most important KPI was the dealer’s feedback concerning the motivational power of ”Mission Astra”. Internal surveys on the departure dates showed, that 97% of all dealers from 14 European countries felt “very motivated” for the upcoming sales period. Another indicator for the success of this special concept approach was the trickle down effect for the follow-up events in the European markets. The concept and story outline as well as the graphic and media assets from the “Astra universe” in the “Mission briefing” were implemented in various internal sales events and product presentations from Norway to Greece. Tina Müller „Chief Marketing Officer Opel Group: „Our aim with the Astra mission was to demonstrate once again how innovative and brave the Opel brand is. We created a money-can’t-buy event for our dealers. The positive responses show that we have inspired and motivated them with this unique event”.

Full focus on this special launch! To strengthen the importance and to create momentum for the brand, we created the Astra Launch base far off any expected event venue. Rounded-off by and various hands-on product experiences, such as reveal shows, expert talks, active driving excursions into the moon-like landscape of the Sierra Nevada and special themed race track test drives at the Astra Launch Base. All individual components of the product and the Astra mission are woven into a consistent story.