Mazda to adopt gamification for brand building campaign
Mazda is to launch its first gamification-led experiential brand campaign this summer as part of its efforts to drive growth by 20 per cent in 2013.
Participants can play to win “unconventional” Mazda test drives in exotic locations around the world, in line with the brand’s “Defy Convention” brand strapline.
Mazda will also host more than 600 UK-based unconventional test drives alongside its existing “Gourmet Drives” initiative, which sees the brand host ‘drive-outs’ to locations with unusual approaches to food, such as Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant.
The campaign, planned for this summer, will include a game that people can play on mobiles as well as at sites where the car brand hosts the activity. It will also be linked with digital content.
Mazda UK marketing director Claire Andrews, told Marketing Week the experiences will be things people wouldn’t normally associate with a test drive.
Andrews says: “[Defy Convention] has been our brand proposition for about two years ago and we’ve been building on it since them. It’s really the essence of what Mazda is about. [The experiential activity] is to communicate at that brand level so people can experience our brand as well as our cars.”
Andrews adds the company will grow its marketing spend year on year and hopes to increase it in line with sales growth.
Mazda unveiled its ambitious growth strategy last week (26 April). Managing director Jeremy Thompson said at the time the company has “turned a corner” after five challenging years.
It expects to sell 31,000 cars this year and to launch models in new segments to drive growth.
