The Royals were tasked with developing a pre-launch campaign for the X-Class, Mercedes-Benz’s first-ever ute, to emotionally prime Australians for a unique and memorable take on the ‘tough’ ute. The campaign objectives were to generate awareness, reach a new audience outside motoring media, shift brand and category perception and generate more than 7,000 leads before the official launch of the X-Class.

Strategy

The ute category has been built on a history of ‘toughness’ defined by traditional masculine stereotypes of strength, ruggedness and towing capacity. But Australia is changing and toughness can no longer be defined by just muscles and macho. It’s more complex than that, but ute advertising keeps hammering home the same lazy stereotypes.

‘Tough Conversations’ explored the evolution of toughness to encompass a more progressive view. Our intention was to shine a light on the reality that toughness can come in many forms, by highlighting the evolution of ‘tough’ – a highly valued Aussie trait – Mercedes-Benz aimed to reflect a more modern Australia.

Execution

‘Tough Conversations’ is an integrated, content-driven campaign, led by a one-hour documentary and 5 part podcast series – hosted by iconic punk rocker Henry Rollins. Not an obvious choice for Mercedes-Benz but Henry’s own evolution from punk bad-boy to respected actor, radio host, writer, and social commentator made him the perfect spokesperson for a new type of toughness.

To create the content, Mercedes-Benz invited Rollins to take a road trip across the country in the new X-Class, and along the way talk to Australians from all walks of life about what toughness means to them.

Among a bunch of hard-working everyday Australians, Henry spoke to some well-known Aussies, including 3 x world champion surfer Mick Fanning, City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, and APRA Songwriter of the Year (2018) Adam Briggs.

Australians followed Henry’s journey and exclusive content via daily updates on social media and a dedicated microsite. The podcast gave our audience longer, more in-depth interviews with our best subjects.

PR was integral to the campaign, allowing Australians to engage with ‘Tough Conversations’ every step of the way – before, during and after Henry’s journey. Initiatives saw the likes of local and national networks and publications attend the interviews along the journey, while Henry attended two days of press interviews following his epic road trip to promote the campaign.

A heavy digital pre-roll and radio plan then amplified the podcasts and documentary trailers in the lead up to the release of ‘Tough Conversations’.

Results

* The documentary was picked-up by Network Ten and aired during primetime on ONE and streamed on catch-up TV.

* The Tough Conversations podcast was number 1 on the Apple podcast chart within 48 hours of launch.

* 90% of each podcast episode was consumed, showing significant engagement.

* Virgin Australia picked up the podcast series for their in-flight entertainment.

* 4.5 million people were reached through PR coverage alone.

* The campaign gained 85 pieces of positive PR across national TV, radio, print and online media.

* Total of $821,000 additional media value was generated.

* Mercedes-Benz Vans’ Instagram following grew 54% and engagement on Facebook increased 300%.

* Almost 70,000 people visited the campaign microsite, with two-thirds spending an average of 4 minutes exploring the X-Class page.

* Brand health measures showed our audience now see the X-Class as a tough and credible contender in the category.

* Over 9,800 people registered their interest for the X-Class.