THE CAR2GO CAMEO

Short List
TitleTHE CAR2GO CAMEO
BrandCAR2GO GROUP GMBH
Product/ServiceCAR2GO CARSHARING
Category D01. Use of Brand or Product Integration into a Programme or Platform
Entrant TBWA\GERMANY Düsseldorf, GERMANY
Idea Creation TBWA\GERMANY Düsseldorf, GERMANY
PR DO IT! Düsseldorf, GERMANY
Production THE MARMALADE POST Dusseldorf, GERMANY
Credits
Name Company Position
Christian Mommertz TBWA Dussseldorf CCO
Michael Manke TBWA Dusseldorf Creative Director
Frank Olma TBWA Dusseldorf Creative Director
Georg Schütte TBWA Dusseldorf Creative Director
Jennifer Signon TBWA Dusseldorf Art Director

The Campaign

The evaluation of user behaviour data showed that tourists, travellers and city dwellers have two things in common: 1. The usage of Google Maps and it’s respective photo galleries for orientation in the city jungle and to gather information about their points of interest. 2. They are a main target for carsharing services. In order to introduce it’s new Mercedes Benz fleet Car2Go flooded the picture gallery of Google maps with 4000 photos of their new cars parked in front of the 4000 most googled locations in Berlin - turning world’s location finder #1 into an online car showroom of 800 square kilometres. To increase customer loyalty and gain new registrations from then on customers could upload pictures of their booked cars by themselves – to receive free driving minutes in return.

Creative Execution

Uploaded on Google Maps 4000 photos showcased the new car2go models placed in front of Berlin’s 4000 most googled locations. By hijacking Google Maps car2go overnight turned Germany’s capital into a virtual car showroom of 800 square kilometres. With the utilization of an everyday online application used by a modern urban target group, Germany’s carsharing service #1 skyrocketed with 300 clicks on average per photo within the first 48 hours and in total 1.2 million, to the position of the carsharing provider with the most views. From the moment on when customers started to upload their own car portraits to receive free driving minutes in return there was no way to avoid car2go.

Each of the 4000 first photos achieved 300 clicks on average within the first 48 hours, in total 1.2 Million. Direct contacts that skyrocketed Germany’s carsharing service No.1 to the position of the carsharing provider with the most views. Without a single cent of media budget the new Car2go fleet not just raised awareness overnight. From the moment on when customers started to upload pictures of their booked cars to receive free driving minutes in return, bookings raised by 11% and new registrations by 8%.

To showcase its new fleet, to increase customer loyalty and to gain new registrations Car2Go used a media that has never been used as a media before: Google Maps. Choosing Google Maps as a guerrilla-marketing platform became a most disruptive innovation in marketing: Turning world’s location finder #1 into an online car showroom. With 0 Cent media budget. And a hit rate of 100%. With this utilization of an everyday online application Car2Go promoted its new fleet and the mobility service itself directly to the main target groups: tourists, travellers and city dwellers.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

To introduce its new Mercedes Benz fleet car2go went where its target is while moving around in the city jungle: on google maps. By an innovative media clou car2go managed to hijack the most popular orientation platform: simply by using its picture galleries as a guerilla marketing platform. By uploading more than 4000 photos of car2go vehicles parked in front of Berlin’s top ranked locations Germany’s capital got turned into a virtual car showroom. Overnight car2go quasi owned 800 square kilometres of digital advertising space – all of Berlin – to promote its new fleet.