We have strategically planned and implemented a series of eight connected marketing campaigns for Mazda from 2002 to date

Mazda is an international automotive manufacturer.

When brands don’t have pockets as deep as their competitors’ and don’t own their own channel, they have to use an array of methods to be seen and heard, and connected marketing techniques are an increasingly important part of that arsenal.

Mazda UK first used online viral marketing in May 2002 as a tactical exercise to test the value of adding viral activity to their overall brand marketing mix. The campaign pre-launched online an amusing TV ad called ‘Brats’.

More viral and buzz marketing campaigns featuring video-based material - and often integrating with Mazda’s pan-European and Australasian activity - have followed, including to date: Brats, Women Drivers, 6 Under Par, Flytrap, Megawash, Little Squirt, Car Wars and Mannequin.

Some of the campaigns (e.g. Little Squirt and Mannequin) have used our web-first launch strategy, pre-releasing TV ads online in order to help kick-start wider marketing campaigns and create a ‘watercooler’ buzz effect. This web-first approach is very cost-effective production-wise: the TV ads are already being made, so including another edit is less expensive than producing a separate viral clip from scratch. In addition, the cost of pre-launching a clip online is less than the cost of a single insertion in a tabloid newspaper, and the buzz that can be generated is much greater (and more accurately measurable) than that from a print ad.

Other Mazda viral and buzz marketing campaigns (e.g. Women Drivers and Car Wars) have used an online-only strategy and tapped into universal buzz themes to make new product launches more exclusive, or to boost interest in and widen awareness of existing products. This kind of lower-cost, web-only execution also helps maintain brand awareness in mainstream media downtime, when TV advertising isn’t running. Web-only viral clips have the added benefit of being in demand for subsequent use as editorial material on TV shows such as “Tarrant on TV”, further boosting buzz and providing brands with massive mainstream awareness for free.

In 2003, we proposed creating MazdaMovies.com to showcase all Mazda’s viral and buzz campaign material. MazdaMovies.com is a generic web space where online visitors can have fun (illustrating the brand’s fun-loving spirit) while interacting directly with the brand. It’s also a central, consolidated platform for launching Mazda viral and buzz campaigns internationally.

Our eight Mazda viral and buzz marketing campaigns to date have generated between them:

• Brand exposure = 25 million+
• Calculable, proactive film clip views = 10 million+
• Widespread positive buzz (online consumer comments and conversations)

These results are only a snapshot; by their nature, viral and buzz campaigns also generate untrackable buzz and clip usage. The total amount of consumer-driven activity and interaction has spread wider than can be measured. In addition, all the campaigns continue to deliver awareness and drive response ad infinitum - even the Brats campaign from 2002 is still delivering branded clip views, and hits to the Mazda web site!

As Steve Jelliss, former CRM Manager for Mazda UK, stated:

Our ongoing series of online viral marketing campaigns have proven their value in providing high brand exposure to a wide-as-possible audience, and ultimately contributing to car sales.

Contact us if you’d like to commission a consultancy session to learn more about connected marketing and how it can add value to your brand’s bottom line.