Title	MYSTERY TEST DRIVE
Brand	MERCEDES-BENZ SCHWEIZ
Product/Service	AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR
Category	B07. Use of Competitions & Promotional Games
Entrant	WIRZ BBDO SWITZERLAND Zürich, SWITZERLAND
Idea Creation	WIRZ BBDO SWITZERLAND Zürich, SWITZERLAND
Media Placement	FUEL@VIVAKI Zürich, SWITZERLAND
Production	SNAP FILM Zurich, SWITZERLAND
Additional Company	JEFF COMMUNICATIONS GMBH Zürich, SWITZERLAND

Name	Company	Position
Fernando Perez	Wirz/BBDO	Executive Creative Director
Wolfgang Bark	Wirz/BBDO	Copywriter
Dominique Magnusson	Wirz/BBDO	Art Director
Tina Mons	Wirz/BBDO	Account Director
Antonia Sturzeis	Wirz/BBDO	Account Assistant
Yves Rückert	Wirz/BBDO	Account Supervisor
Livio Dainese	Wirz/BBDO	Chief Creative Officer
Sarah Ming	Wirz/BBDO	Copywriter
Julien de Preux	Wirz/BBDO	Art Director
Gaël Tran	Wirz/BBDO	Art Director Digital
Stefan Schmid	Wirz/BBDO	Account Director
Vincenzo Tremonte	Wirz/BBDO	Account Supervisor Digital
Johannes Schulmeister	Wirz/BBDO	Account Director Digital
Aline Herzog	Wirz/BBDO	Account Assistant Digital
Gordon Nemitz	Wirz/BBDO	Executive Strategy Director
Sebahat Derdiyok	Wirz/BBDO	Acency Producer
Ben Staudenmann	Wirz/BBDO	Graphic Design

The Campaign

All test drives usually have the same final destination: back to the dealership. «Mystery Test Drive» takes a different approach: Only the navigation system knows where the driver is heading to and leads him there – a destination matching the world of the A-Class and its target group. This can be an exclusive exhibition, a helicopter flight, a live concert, a fashion show or a sports event, an exclusive shopping destination or a hotel. To ensure the matching destination, participants chose their favorite lifestyle topic during the registration process for the online competition.

Campaign Success

Video-Ads let the users catch a glimpse of what they could experience in a Mystery Test Drive were aired. Placed on streaming platforms and banners on the leading online news portals in the context of sports, lifestyle and design topics led to the microsite. A native advertising-cooperation with watson.ch created additional traffic and interaction. Once the prospectives arrived on the microsite, they were invited to participate in the exclusive test drive competition. Among all participants 30 exclusive «Mystery Test Drivers» were drawn – those were the main winners. The contact data and individual interests of all other participants were forwarded to the most proximate located dealership, that invited them to a "normal" test drive. At the end of the drive all participants that didn’t win one of the 30 «Mystery Test Drive» , got an individual goodie as a special surprise.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

The campaign should be noticed by the young target group and generate 80'000 clicks, 104'598 clicks were achieved within the campaign period (3 weeks)– the goal could be topped by 31%. For the small market Switzerland this means a huge traffic. The users who have clicked should check out the microsite to get further information (goal: 30'000 unique users). 49'896 unique users went on the Mystery Test Drive site, +66% above target. Every prospect for the testdrive is rechecked individually: If it is a multiple participant and the age is valid. This resulted into 1'321 qualified and valuable leads and potential clients for Mercedes-Benz: + 65% beyond target. The objective was to generate 400 test drives. 847 test drives were distributed to the regional dealers, which means the targeted outcome has been doubled. Furthermore, the Mystery Test Drive campaign generated 11 times higher A-class sales than the classical advertising campaign.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class received a facelift. But Mercedes-Benz did not exactly reinvent the model in 2015. Things like a new color for the car varnish or a multi-coloured ambient lighting were not really astonishing. So, is it possible to convince young people test driving it anyway, even though there are no exciting news about the car? It was. Instead of 400 targeted test drives, 847 people got behind the wheel.

Our potential A-Class drivers are between 25 and 35 years old, live an active lifestyle and feel at home in the digital world. Their job is important to them, at the same time they use their income to enjoy life. They are open-minded, social, sportive and adventurous. They love city trips, fashion and design, cultural and sports events, appreciate their individuality and buy brands that reflect their way of living and mindset. Based on the claim of the A-Class «Suitable for every lifestyle», we knew that we had to focus on the brand character of the new A-Class and marry it with the values and world of the spoiled audience. The test drives must become desirable events, instead of a boring promotion.