ŠKODA aims to be among the top 5 European auto manufacturers by 2030.
Here, Sacha Lacroix, General Manager of ROSA PARIS, chats about the agency’s latest campaign for ŠKODA France, the launch of its first 100% electric SUV the ENYAQ iV, and how choosing ŠKODA is now a choice to be proud of.
How long has ROSA PARIS been working with ŠKODA France?
We have been working for ŠKODA for the past 5 years now, helping them to radically improve both their brand image (brand perception has dramatically changed over the past few years) and their business (making France the European country where the most ŠKODA cars are sold per year). A clear sign of its ambition to be among the top 5 European auto manufacturers by 2030.
Give us some background on the creative brief that ŠKODA France gave you for this campaign.
Over the past 5 years, ŠKODA has undergone a real transformation. From being a value-for-money, basic and low-cost “choice by default” for consumers, the brand has been premiumised through a total product rebirth: introducing SUV models, high-end finishes, cars equipped with more technologies and so on. By becoming more competitive over the past years, ŠKODA has become an “alternative choice” among consumers. We have gone one step further in 2021 by launching the new ŠKODA ENYAQ iV. A car with a great design, full of smart technologies … and a range that defies all competition. For the first time, ŠKODA is more than a competitive car in its market: the ENYAQ iV is the best electric SUV in its segment. This is how we came up with this communication opportunity: make choosing ŠKODA a choice to be proud of.
Making a car advert without showing the car until the very end – was that not a little risky?
In a world of hyper-conventional communications faced with competitors who invest a lot of money in their media plans, the only risk we had was to do what everyone else was doing: showing the same car, in the same actions, with the same insights. At ŠKODA, we have always wanted to do things differently, to break the codes in order to make more of an impact with less of a budget.
“For the first time, ŠKODA is more than a competitive car in its market: the ENYAQ iV is the best electric SUV in its segment. This is how we came up with this communication opportunity: make choosing ŠKODA a choice to be proud of.”
Tell us about the media campaign and how it has been shared? What was unique about it?
This campaign was more about engaging than advertising: we created a 360° activation.
For anyone who has recently bought a car from a competitor and then realised their mistake in not having chosen the ENYAQ iV, ŠKODA wants to show some generosity and a lot of empathy… by simply offering them the possibility of trading it for an ENYAQ iV!
To announce the contest, never-seen-before in the automotive sector, the brand launched a 40 second film across its social networks Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. And so that as many people as possible get a chance, the operation is scheduled over a period of two weeks and the brand has astutely multiplied points of contact to include as many people as possible: social media, targeted digital, contextualized DOOH, influence… with content adapted to each medium depending on the objectives.
The results were way beyond expectations: with over 5M social engagement, ŠKODA’s perception has shifted and reached another level in consumers’ minds.
How has the target audience’s perception of ŠKODA changed since ROSA PARIS first started working with them?
For nearly five years, ŠKODA and ROSA PARIS have continually changed consumer perceptions: from Ugly in the ‘90s (elected Grand Prix Stratégies 2019), Waiting isn’t an Option (Grand Prix Effie 2020 Gold in Automotive category), Will & Chuck, Sleep Package to Ride of the Valkyries, ŠKODA’s perception has been disrupted, from a basic car to an alternative, and then a real choice to be proud of.
