SMART: HALF PRICE

Credits:

Type of Entry: Use of Media
Category: Best Use of Ambient Media: Large Scale
Title: HALF PRICE
Advertiser/Client: DAIMLER
Product/Service: SMART
Entrant Company: PONTO DE CRIAÇÃO São Paulo, BRAZIL
Advertising Agency: PONTO DE CRIAÇÃO São Paulo, BRAZIL
Creative Credits
Name Company Position
Ana Paula Marques Ponto De Criaçao Creative Director
Bruno Cepollina Ponto De Criaçao Creative Director
Paulo Vasconcellos Ponto De Criaçao Copywriter
Renata Alcantara Ponto De Criaçao Art Director
Cristiano Correa Ponto De Criaçao Business Director
Betina Steinkopff Ponto De Criaçao Account Director
Richard Denami Ponto De Criaçao Producer
Cesar Lopes Ponto De Criaçao Planner
Ingrid Kokeny Ponto De Criaçao Media Director
Antonio Novaes Daimler Marketing Manager
Comercial/Cia Tv Production Co
Details
Results and Effectiveness:
Our results could not be calculated by the number of people that effectively took advantage of the promotion, but by the number of people impacted by the signs. The overall cost was low, even considering the subsided discounts, because there were very few smart cars on the streets when the campaign was launched. Not everybody took advantage of the promotion, but everyone saw the signs! We managed to communicate that smart occupies half the space of a regular car in 106 spots around Sao Paulo. An average of 25,000 clients was directly impacted per day in a moment when parking costs were a relevant issue. Traditional media would not offer the same impact and the same coverage with the same budget.
Creative Execution:
Without a budget large enough for traditional media, how could we communicate the car’s main attribute, its space usage, to a great number of drivers? In Brazil, students, seniors and special card holders pay half-price tickets for cultural events. Following this trend, we created “smart half-price.” More than a promotion, the idea was to create a buzz and give visibility to the car’s greatest attribute: it occupies half the space of other cars. A partnership with a large chain of parking garages was established, and we placed signs at the entrances informing: “smart pays half-price.” Parking spaces were split in half to show the exact dimensions of the car. In doing so, we created an alternative form of street communication disguised as a promotion. The concept of “smart pays half price” was later extended to toll booths, car washes, ferry boats and even to unregulated curbside valets.
Insights, Strategy and the Idea:
Our challenge was to launch the smart in São Paulo - a city dominated by cars, with a huge public transportation deficit - on a very modest budget. There were no minicars in Brazil, therefore, smart was bringing a new concept in space usage. Our target was people who are deeply interested in cultural and social life and for this reason prefer to live in large cities even if they have to face an everyday battle for parking spaces. For either work or leisure activities, finding a parking space is tough, and people usually park their cars on expensive parking lots scattered throughout the city. Our insight came from one of smart’s major benefits, occupying little space and showing that this is a major advantage by appealing to the consumer’s most sensitive side: the wallet.