#BEHINDCARDOORS

Title#BEHINDCARDOORS
BrandRENAULT
Product/ServiceRENAULT SCENIC
Category A05. Automotive
Entrant RENAULT UK Rickmansworth, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation MSLGROUP London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation 2 PUBLICIS LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
PR MSLGROUP London, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name Company Position
Simon Condon MSL Deputy Managing Director, Consumer
Gemma Albin MSL Social and Influencer Planner
Kinda Jackson MSL Head of Digital
Lauren Fletcher MSL Account Executive
Layla Hatia MSL Account Director
Meera Sanghvi Publicis Account Director
Alex Augustyn Publicis Account Manager
Marcus Iles Publicis Creative Director

Why is this work relevant for PR?

Why tell your story if someone of influence can tell it for you? This influencer-led campaign took a long-term approach to fully engage with the target audience and build trust and credibility over a 12 month period.

Background

Consumer research revealed the Renault Scenic was low on the list of cars considered by families. We wanted to find a way for the car to gain greater relevance with the family market. The Scenic range incorporates many features designed to enhance families’ everyday lives, and we required a creative way to communicate these benefits. We needed to create a campaign with shareable, newsworthy content, designed to really resonate with the Renault Scenic target consumer, supported by paid, owned and earned media. Our objectives were to: • Create a communications campaign for the new Renault Scenic that directly reaches its core audience demographic of UK parents with children under the age of 18 • Reposition the Scenic as the perfect family car with all of the features needed for a quick trip to the shops or a weekend away • Generate positive media coverage, strong word-of-mouth and an online buzz

Describe the creative idea

Taking inspiration from the popularity of the dash-cam video format, made famous by the likes of James Cordon’s ‘Carpool Karaoke’, we set out to create an entertaining dash-cam series showcasing real life in a family car. To do this authentically, we enlisted the help of influential parenting Instagrammers to take part in a social experiment. For 12 months, their Renault Scenic cars would be rigged with dash-cams to capture their warts-and-all experiences. Anna Whitehouse (Mother Pukka) and Simon Hooper (Father of Daughters) were chosen as the stars of the campaign. The up-and-coming faces of parenting on Instagram, Simon and Anna had the authority to speak in the space, offer engaged communities and provide an unfiltered look at parenting. Moreover, the Renault Scenic fitted perfectly into their natural storyline as Anna was pregnant with her second child and needed a larger car and Simon already had 4 daughters to contend with.

Describe the strategy

Targeted at UK parents with children under the age of 18, #BehindCarDoors was inspired by the insight that car journeys are redefining the concept of family time. Our hectic lives mean the traditional sit-down evening meal conversations are being eroded so that daily trips and weekend getaways are often the only moments remaining to share stories as a family and have our children’s full attention. In effect, the car has eclipsed the dining table as the most important place for family conversations. We decided to take a long-term commitment to an influencer campaign, rather than a transactional one-off approach, to really build credibility and trust with parents. In addition, to generate earned media coverage in national print and broadcast media, we gathered wider, real-life stories by surveying 2,000 parents who drive and have children under 18, to build on the original campaign insight and provide national and regional angles.

Describe the execution

Anna and Simon each made 12 videos across the space of a year capturing every aspect of their daily lives. For Anna, this included the test run to the hospital before she gave birth, her daughter’s first days at school, a supermarket trip and cloud watching through the skylight. Simon included journeys to and from the airport, the joys of cleaning out a family car and even a trip to the car wash. Essentially, the entire campaign focused on how the car fitted into and enhanced the families’ lives so the content was a true reflection of how they used the car, rather than manufactured situations. The survey provided fascinating feedback including the fact that 59% of parents instigate awkward topics in the car to avoid engaging in eye-contact. Using these additional insights, and working with respected psychologist Dr. Linda Papadopoulos to analyse the results, we drove widespread media coverage.

List the results

The campaign achieved incredible reach and engagement on social and in traditional media, and delivered against the objective to reposition the Scenic as a family car.“#BehindCarDoors is Renault UK’s first influencer-led marketing campaign and the content has really struck a chord with our target audience. It was a leap of faith for the brand and we didn’t really know what to expect – but we couldn’t be more pleased with the results we have seen so far. It’s brought to life the car’s role at the heart of family life and we’ve seen a big spike in conversation and coverage around the Renault Scenic brand.” Colette Casey, Brand Manager, Renault UK Engagement • 1.9 million engagement for #BehindCarDoors content posted by the influencers to date • Anna’s content has encouraged higher engagement than any of her other video content, with viewers returning to watch a series they’ve come to know and love • The campaign reached over 230m people via PR with in depth articles featured in the likes of the Mirror, Sun and Telegraph Purchase Decision • 78% of people who follow the influencers would consider purchasing the car and 80% said the campaign made the Renault Scenic seem different to other cars • Recently, both influencers posted videos summarising their year #BehindCarDoors. Among the comments mentioning a love of the series, several families said they had test-driven the Scenic as a result of the campaign KPIs • 318% exceeded KPIs for Mother Pukka’s first piece of content