Audi is the first German carmaker to receive one of the most coveted awards in the advertising industry: The Gold Global Effie was presented to the four rings for its “land of quattro” campaign at yesterday’s awards ceremony in New York. The campaign for the premium segment’s top-selling all-wheel drive technology has thus been recognized as one of the most successful marketing ideas in the world. Through the Effie Awards, the jury acknowledges both the creativity and effectiveness of advertising communication. The advertisement for the launch of the new Audi A3 Sportback was shortlisted in this year’s competition, singling it out as one of the strongest campaigns in the world.
Unlike the national Effie Awards that are presented in over 40 countries, the global award recognizes the advertising effectiveness of global campaigns. This year’s double success brings Audi its first wins at the Global Effie Awards, which are presented each year based on the verdict of an international jury made up of high-ranking industry and marketing decision-makers. The four rings have now become the first German carmaker ever to achieve one of the coveted top three rankings.
“This award is a great honor and particularly delights us, because it encapsulates our business approach: to achieve maximum impact by creative, progressive ideas and implementing them efficiently at 360 degree with clear measurable KPIs,” remarked Giovanni Perosino, Head of Marketing Communications at AUDI AG, at the awards ceremony in New York.
With the claim “land of quattro” Audi launched a broad-based, integrated communication campaign in winter 2012, spanning from classic print advertising, through the brand’s engagement in winter sport, to diverse out-of-home formats. “With ‘land of quattro’, we presented an icon of our brand in a new, unique, very emotional and very effective way,” explains Michael Finke, Head of Creation/Sales.
For TV advertising, Audi had country-specific commercials made – initially for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Russia. Today, the campaign has been rolled out in 28 additional countries and a follow-up TV commercial has been launched. The universal message is: Whatever the weather, whatever the road conditions – every country is perfect for quattro. The German version of the TV commercial takes the viewer in spectacular pictures on a journey through Germany and invites him to discover the country anew with the help of all-wheel drive: in rain or snow, countryside or cityscape, from the North Sea coast to the Alps. The commercial “Germany. Land of quattro” was created in collaboration with the creative agency thjnk Berlin. Fans were also able to post and share their top quattro experiences and favorite places on a website.
The campaign which won a Gold Effie Award pays homage to the quattro success story, which Audi is now building on technologically with its latest evolution of the permanent all-wheel drive system. Since the “Ur-quattro” made its debut in 1980, Audi has built and sold over 5.9 million automobiles with quattro drive. The six millionth Audi with quattro will be leaving the production line in a few weeks’ time. In 2013, Audi yet again sold more cars with all-wheel drive worldwide than any other premium brand. Around 44 percent of Audi customers – almost one in two – now choose a quattro version.
Yesterday’s Global Effie Awards ceremony brought another high-profile success for Audi: The jury chose the advertising communication for the market introduction of the new Audi A3 Sportback as one of the five shortlisted campaigns. The shortlist is restricted to advertising formats that have been demonstrably very effective and successful worldwide, and have therefore made a proven contribution to corporate success. To the backing track “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” by Daft Punk and with a quick succession of pictures, the TV commercial for the campaign launched in early 2013 is aimed especially at young target audiences. The film was created in collaboration with the agency thjnk Hamburg and director Sam Brown. The campaign, which also featured print advertisements and its own microsite, was run in 23 countries.
It thus contributed to the successful start of the new-generation A3. In Europe, the new A3 family is already the market leader in the premium compact segment; it was also launched in China and the United States in the early part of this year. The Sportback is the most popular A3 model in Europe, with a steadily growing fan base. In 2013, worldwide sales of the five-door A3 model alone rose 16.5 percent to 156,201 units, rising a further 22 percent over January through May 2014 compared with the prior-year period.
Source: Audi