November 2008

Driving technology home
New car owners’ welcome kit underscores Mitsubishi’s unique brand and resonates with its technology savvy clientele. By Pat Atkinson

Client: Mitsubishi Canada Campaign: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Welcome Kit Agency: BBDO and Proximity Canada Account Executive: Jake Allen Account Supervisor: Rebecca Flaman This 7 1/8” wide by 6 1/8” deep welcome kit includes (bottom left) a chammy and sponge to remove unwanted fingerprints from the exterior of the owner’s attractive new Lancer Evolution 10, (top left). The personalized welcome letter (bottom center) is produced using VDP and VDI technology. All essential ownership information regarding the vehicle and some fun extras are housed on a USB card (bottom right). A screen capture (above right) of the owner’s warranty document is stored on the USB card.

How do you show appreciation to customers who have waited patiently for the car of their dreams to become available? If you’re Mitsubishi Canada, you send them a welcome kit that arrives unexpectedly in the mail approximately two weeks after their new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (EVO) is registered with the dealer.

Never sold in Canada until the tenth generation arrived last January for model year 2008, EVO 10 is comparable in price point to the Audi M4 and the BMW 1 Series and it boasts a loyal following among rally and performance enthusiasts alike. Because the automobile was among the most anticipated performance cars of 2008, something special was called for as a value added incentive to thank customers who, through their purchase, become “brand ambassadors” for Mitsubishi in Canada. At 93, Mitsubishi is Japan’s oldest auto maker and while its products may be #1 or #2 in some markets (Southeast Asia, Africa and others) the company has only been in operation here for six years. Consequently, the Canadian firm’s marketing efforts have an over-arching requirement to build awareness and convey the brand’s themes: reliability, durability and athleticism, traits that are represented across Mitsubishi’s full range of vehicles. As challenging as this may sound, sales are up 53% over last year and approximately 600 EVO 10s have been sold to date. “We are absolutely becoming a contender in the Canadian auto place very quickly,” stresses Customer Experience marketing manager Kevin O’Rourke.

Halo vehicle
“We wanted to put together a nice premium piece for customers of the first 600 of these vehicles,” he explains. “First, because they had been waiting so long and second, because they had purchased our halo vehicle (one that is designed and marketed to showcase the company’s talents, resources and engineering technology and which promotes the brand and sales of other related vehicles). “We wanted to make sure there was a nice value added package that went with it.”

To that end, he turned to BBDO (a subsidiary of BBDO Worldwide, which is part of Omnicom Group Inc., a leading global advertising, marketing and corporate communications company) and Proximity Canada (a leading interactive, relationship, and direct marketing services agency that is a wholly-owned division of BBDO Canada) for suggestions. BBDO has a network-wide “TotalWork” approach that embraces integrated marketing communications as the ideal solution for developing strategies and campaigns for its clients. Mitsubishi Canada was no exception to this rule. Account executive Jake Allen and account supervisor Rebecca Flaman took a comprehensive and integrated approach to this challenge —addressing the company’s immediate and longer-term agendas.

Create a buzz
Flaman says that the initial goals for the welcome kit were to help create a buzz about the brand and flagship car within automotive circles; significantly decrease calls to the Customer Relations department regarding information warranty, roadside assistance and other practical needs; and to reaffirm to new owners that they had just purchased the most technologically advanced car of their lives.

O’Rourke emphasizes, “This latest generation Lancer Evolution features active stability control, a dual clutch system and ‘best of the best’ suspension and braking systems that are found on vehicles three and four times the price.” Tech fans with means and a passion for the culture of driving Little wonder then that the “pocket rocket” has been a favourite in Japan for 26 years and its Canadian customer base— described as technologically savvy, professional, 25 to 45 year old males who enjoy a refined lifestyle — are attracted to the automobile’s technology. This detail did not go unnoticed by O’Rourke and the BBDO and Proximity Canada team when they were developing the welcome kit’s components.

Welcome kit
The top of the box features the message: “On the road, nothing touches your Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.” Inside the box, “On the curb, it’s a different story,” is printed alongside a graphic fingerprint on a card, under which a chammy and sponge are packaged. These will presumably be used to help keep the vehicle’s exterior fingerprint-free from curious admirers.

Also inside the package, a 1:1 personalized welcome letter— based on variable data images and variable data printing– congratulates the new Evolution owner. But what makes this kit particularly suited to its unique customer base is the presence of a USB card that includes information that every owner needs such as roadside assistance details, an issuance of the warranty and an explanation of what it entails, and directions to the customer’s dealer to obtain service. There is also a “Media” section on the card that features exclusive content; exciting race footage videos of the EVO 10, wallpaper, and even directions for making a cut and fold paper version of the car. O’Rourke explains the rationale for producing it on a memory card.

“We know from our data that these customers are some of the most connected people in the marketplace and by that I mean they are kind of off the charts as users of technology on an everyday basis. They would be the ones who would quickly blog about this kit and not need any explanation about how to use a USB card.”

In addition to its document storage role, the card provides a link to the company’s social media site and O’Rourke says there’s lots more to come on that score. “We’re looking at the potential for an owners-only section, either on the USB or within the company Web site.”

Recently, 600 personalized welcome kits were mailed to unsuspecting EVO 10 customers across Canada. Before long, it is anticipated that these car owners will generate a positive buzz both online and by word of mouth among their family, neighbours and friends. Thereafter, it is hoped that this kind of viral marketing will have favourable implications for other Mitsubishi vehicles and the brand itself.

The marketing manager says that he and the agency are in the process of developing other kinds of welcome kits that will accompany the full range of vehicles Mitsubishi offers and the team is actively exploring ways to survey, profile and collect customer data using USB cards and social media. Undoubtedly, this strategy will go a long way toward breaking through the clutter and driving home that Mitsubishi is a unique and technologically advanced brand.