Ranger: Brains Over Brawn

Objectives

Mindshare’s objectives were to double sales growth of the Ford Ranger from 9.98% CAGR to 20% and increase market share by two points. It also aimed to boost profitable growth, increasing average retail price by 10% and driving brand preference to close the favourability gap between Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux and improve it by 30%. To be successful, the campaign would convert shoppers to buyers and reposition Ranger as the smarter choice. Using behavioural data,

Mindshare saw an opportunity to drive conversion through direct comparison with HiLux.

Campaign

Mindshare partnered with Fairfax to create an 8-part video series championing smarter workers, with editorial support across Fairfax mastheads, plus paid media distribution across ‘smarter’ environments and integration into the Ford Ranger landing page. Mindshare ‘hijacked’ HiLux online search activity with a targeted search buy and auto website search results. Native ads leveraged the herd mentality of buyers through ‘people also viewed’ ads against HiLux results.

Digital ads compared Ranger to HiLux to drive people into dealerships. Mindshare put HiLux and Ranger headto- head with a test drive challenge, with a cash offer for people who test drove a Ranger and still bought a HiLux.

Results

Mindshare achieved or smashed every objective, with sales increasing by 23% YOY and Ranger increasing market share by 3.2 points. Brand preference rose by 10 points and Ranger improved shopper conversion rates by more than 100%. Assuming growth rate had stayed consistent at 9.98% CAGR, an additional 19,364 units were expected but the campaign delivered 21,094 unit sales, incrementally up 1,730 units. At a weighted average RRP of $51,903 (an increase of 11.4% and the highest in its category) and a 30% margin, there was a gross sales increase of $89.8 million and gross profit increase of $26.9 million. Campaign costs of just $6.7 million, equated to an ROI of 401%.

Judges Comments

In a highly competitive category, the agency clearly demonstrated an innovative use of data that directly drove their communications approach. Outstanding business results were directly attributed to the shift in a bold media play.