smart Europe was established in 2020 to bring the first generation of a new family of fully electric vehicles to European markets. The first model within this new product family, the smart #1, was launched in 2022.
smart approached DEPT® with the task of appealing to a new audience and creating an outstanding digital experience through a direct-to-consumer (D2C) buying journey.
Creating a direct-to-consumer program
The challenge was to simultaneously introduce both the smart #1 car as well as the company’s direct-to-consumer business model.
The new business model required building a comprehensive digital experience through the new smart website, plus creating a strategy that would drive traffic to the website. By leveraging marketing automation, SEO, media buying, and a creative campaign, we sought to engage smart’s audience by spotlighting the ways in which they could purchase a vehicle.
This required finding a way of effectively presenting the vehicle at each touchpoint throughout the often lengthy and diverse customer journey leading up to the purchase.
Personalised and data-driven approach
To achieve these objectives, we had to break away from conventional norms and adopt an individualised and data-driven approach.
Our primary aim was to engage the target audience through tailored storytelling to generate high-quality leads. We achieved this by creating personalised customer journeys that spanned months – from the exciting world premiere of the new smart #1 through the pre-order phase and up to the actual market launch.
Using creative automation to create 2,000 videos
To successfully tackle these challenges and achieve the goals, we conducted thorough research to understand the obstacles to electric vehicle adoption in Europe.
Based on these insights, we developed captivating storylines that portrayed the EV lifestyle in a way that excited and resonated with the audience on a personal level. To realise this vision, we crafted an impressive collection of over 2,000 modular videos and still assets in 11 different languages. These media assets formed the backbone of our digital media plan and were deployed through creative automation to achieve maximum impact.
Exceeding benchmarks
The results of our efforts were impressive: Out of the existing ‘Reserve-my-Seat’ leads in the database, 11% placed pre-orders in the second phase. This was three times higher than the expected benchmark. Additionally, we improved brand awareness and consideration and, more importantly, elevated the overall visibility of the smart #1.
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