Wraith Kryptos, Crack the Code
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Issue 57 | December 2020
Agency
AKQA
Creative Team
Creative Director Paul Ostryzniuk Art Directors Natalie Vosloo, Laura Beretti Designers Becky Swarbrick, Maggie Yu Associate Creative Dezharn Lechisa Creatives Jake Scott, Brandon Thomas Motion Design Art Director Pierre Saladin Senior Copywriter Sam Small
Production Team
Senior User Experience Architect Mikko Pitkanen Production Director Oliver Creamer Programme Director Sarah Martin Project Manager Anisha Chandarama Technical Delivery Manager Pete Healy Senior Web Developers Max Chernyavski, Thomas Ballard Creative Developer Alexander Larson Web Developer Andriy Zinevych Senior Software Engineer Veronica Garcia Senior Quality Assurance Analyst Jas Brach
Other Credits
Account Director Vitor Forte Account Manager Rhys Jones Executive Director, Client Operations James Burton Analytics Lead Giacomo Vannucchi Senior Analyst James Matheson
Date
July-August 2020
Background
Rolls-Royce Wraith Kryptos was a special edition of 50 cars. The task was to take the brand promise of ‘Inspiring Greatness’ and turn it into an active experience.
Idea
The name of the car means ‘Hidden’. Built, sewn and embedded in the design of each Wraith Kryptos was a hidden puzzle marked by coded ciphers. Followers were invited to take part in a gamified digital adaptation of the game to unravel the mystery of Wraith Kryptos. The mobile challenge was promoted via social channels, using everything from Morse Code to Caesar ciphers in increasing levels of difficulty.
Winners were presented with a personalised Rolls-Royce gift, though the secrets of each individual car remained under lock and key for their owners to decipher.
Results
Lead generation increased by 900%, with engagement up 314% on Instagram and 50% on Facebook. Wraith Kryptos sold out before being launched, becoming one of the fastest-selling Collection Cars in Rolls- Royce history.
Our Thoughts
Swiss bank UBS reported that the world’s wealthiest people increased their wealth by 27.5% during the pandemic. Here’s Rolls- Royce helping the younger among them spend some of it. (There’s one for sale in America at the moment for $450,000.) This idea is tailored specifically to the affluent young because as GlobalWebIndex data has shown, they over-index on social media and in brand involvement. They want to be active participants with the brands that interest them. I guess the brief also called for the communications to be as futuristic as the car. Job done.