The Trail Less Traveled
Land Rover
Issue 29 | December 2013
Agency
Wunderman NY
Creative Team
ECD Y&R New York Marc Sobier ECD Wunderman Bob Lukasik Senior Copywriter Wunderman Ryan Eagle Senior Art Director Wunderman Matt Lalande Content Producer Y&R Elizabeth Hodge Interactive Producer Y&R Tena Goy
Production Team
CCO Wunderman Nick Moore CCO Y&R Jim Elliott SVP Group Director Wunderman Keith Rhodes VP Account Director Y&R Kathy Stahler Account Director Wunderman Marc Blaskey Associate Account Director Wunderman Phil Lieberman
Other Credits
Creative Director, Stopp Zachary Richter Interactive Producer, Stopp Frederik Frizell Executive Producer, Stopp Jesper Palsson Technical Director, Stopp Mathew Ranauro Lead Developer, Stopp Cathy Shive Director Bram Coppens Director of Photography Jordan Valenti Interactive Designer Blast Radius Michael McArthur
Date
April 2013
Background
Launched in 2013, the new Range Rover could credibly claim to be the world's most capable vehicle. The problem was that even from the driver's seat it was impossible to see all the advances that made the car truly great. Traditional car communications simply would not get across the many accomplishments of the new Range Rover. A non- traditional approach was required.
Idea
To show off the new Range Rover, a road (or, rather, a trail) was created. As the car journeyed along this 'road less travelled', through a swamp, across a river and over a mountain to arrive at a luxury hotel, both its visible and invisible qualities were showcased.
Every stage was shot from multiple angles so the viewer could toggle between the driver's perspective, views of the car conquering the terrain and close-up photography of the advanced technology and engineering which made the journey possible.
20 interactive elements were woven in, with the ability for the viewer to explore features in depth, change the music track and even change the ending.
It was packaged as an app because the Range Rover's target audience does not read brochures. It does consume media on the move, however.
Results
The Range Rover launch exceeded test drive and sales targets. The initial US vehicle allocation sold out at launch and there continues to be a back order list running into many months.
The app has been opened over 180,000 times since its release in the US app store.
There is a group of "Super-Users" who have opened the app between 50 and 200 times on one device. They spend an average of 3 minutes with the app viewing 4 to 5 elements per visit on average.
This is far more engagement than expected from conventional brochures.
On average, Users interact with the video content an average of 7.5 times and select 3 different video feeds. Terrain Response 2 is the most highly visited secondary content.
Our Thoughts
This is not one of those bells and whistles examples of out-there creativity but it is a well-planned and beautifully executed example of digital craftsmanship.
The trouble with luxury brands is that the people you want to reach are among the most difficult to actually get to. Except, they are the most web-savvy group on the planet. In fact, engaging them digitally is probably the only way you can engage them at all other than through PR. They will avoid anything that looks remotely like an ad. On the other hand they will choose to engage with something if it looks ingenious, interesting and fun. Which this app is. My only problem being that I don’t have the money to buy the car itself.