THE SMALLEST CAR DEALERSHIP EVER

Short List
TitleTHE SMALLEST CAR DEALERSHIP EVER
BrandMERCEDES-BENZ PORTUGAL
Product/ServiceSMART FORTWO
Category B04. Use of Ambient Media: Large Scale
Entrant BBDO PORTUGAL Lisbon, PORTUGAL
Idea Creation BBDO PORTUGAL Lisbon, PORTUGAL
Production BRAND ENERGY Lisbon, PORTUGAL
Production 2 ANIDAS PÓVOA DE SANTA IRIA, PORTUGAL
Production 3 PIX MIX Lisbon, PORTUGAL
Credits
Name Company Position
Rui Silva BBDO Portugal President & CCO
Marco Pacheco BBDO Portugal Creative Director
Rita Bastos BBDO Portugal Board Account Director
Duarte Azevedo BBDO Portugal Account Executive
Rita Mesquita BBDO Portugal Junior Account Executive
Ana Rondão BBDO Portugal Producer
Hugo Carvalheiro BBDO Portugal Art Director
João Guimarães BBDO Portugal Copywriter

The Campaign

We created a fully equipped smart dealership that fits in a single parking space. It is visually striking, because it is uncommon, and is placed in an uncommon place; we took the sales force to where potential clients are; and it is a demonstration that a smart car can be parked in a parking spot and still leave room for a full dealership around it. People could have a true dealership experience, trying the car, talking to sales people, booking test drives…

Creative Execution

Implementation – We built a moveable dealership that had the exact measures of a regular parking spot. Inside the dealership there was room for a smart car, table and chairs, a computer, a coffee machine and air conditioning. Timeline – It started on the 21st of December 2015, and is still going. Placement – Lisbon, Mafra, Viseu, it will be implemented in more Portuguese cities and was recently exported to Germany and China. Scale – width 5 meters x height 2,85 meters x depth 2,5 meters.

Results

Business impact – The investment was €16.000 and in two weeks the profits tripled the investment; the sales increased by 68,75%; The smallest dealership sold more 60% than a normal dealership (and in one location, 900% more); compared to a normal smart roadshow it sold more 133%. Response rate – We had an increase of 797,6% in contacts and of 2500% in visitors. Change in behaviour - The conversion rate from contacts to sales increased by 103,7%.

We directly engaged potential clients in the places where it matters most: parking spots of city centers bursting with cars. We are not only stating the advantages of smart cars, we are demonstrating it, and selling them on the spot. The consumers are engaged in their most desperate moment: trying to find a parking spot or after struggling to find one.

Data gathering – Car dealerships have been closing. In Portugal they went from 6000 in 2008 to 4600 in 2013. They are cold and distant places, and consumers make their buying decisions on the internet, not on dealerships. All cars brands are trying to reinvent the format. Target audience – All city drivers. Approach – To engage people and demonstrate, on the most sensitive city spots, that smart cars are small easy-to-park cars perfect for crowded cities. Call to action – “Make the most of available space”.