"Innovation that Excites" is Nissan's lifeblood and with the 2015 X-Trail, Nissan had created a best-in-class vehicle that lived up to their promise. We needed a launch experience that would trigger excitement too.
So we turned Instagram into a gaming platform for the first time ever in the Middle East.
We identified six of the most influential Instagrammers and provided them with a 2015 X-Trail before it was publicly available. Then we sent them on a one-of-a-kind road trip to a secret location.
During the trip, they competed against one another by sharing their experience with their followers. Every time our Instagrammers received a strategically chosen "trigger word" (adventure, X-Trail, wow, exciting, road trip) in their comments, they earned points.
The more interaction from their followers, the more points they received. Essentially, all they had to do was keep doing what they do best – share awesome photos along the way.
Within only 6 hours and without any paid support, we reached over 1.8 million people and received over 25,000 social media interactions.
Our winner, Elias, earned over 50,000 points, receiving over 7,000 trigger words!
The most exciting result, however, were the thousands of comments in which followers exclaimed brand advocacy, utilizing the trigger words. In fact, Nissan and X-Trail were mentioned over 19,000 times!
Ultimately, we successfully positioned Nissan as a brand that lives up to its mantra: Innovation that Excites.
We knew we wanted to connect with our young, hip audience where they already spend their time – Instagram – but before creating the program, we needed to understand what truly motivates Instagrammers in the Middle East.
Authoritative Instagrammers take great pride in their ability to create engaging content. Daily, they go out of their way to create and find moments worth capturing. Within each image, they infuse their identity, reinforcing or redefining themselves in front of all their onlookers. Moreover, they seek positive reinforcement from their followers. The more likes and comments, the more positive the experience and the more inclined they are to post once more.
We needed to capitalize on this insight.
Through in-depth research, we identified six of the most influential Instagrammers in the UAE. But these people didn't only have high reach; they embodied all the X-Trail stands for – cutting edge, connected, confident, adventurous and bold. Through #TheOneToFollow - an integrated campaign that communicated the X-Trail's superior features as compared to it's competitors - we turned Instagram into a gaming platform for the first time ever in the Middle East.
Our winner, Elias, earned over 50,000 points, receiving over 7,000 trigger words!
Within only 6 hours and without any paid support, we reached over 1.8 million people and received over 25,000 social media interactions (likes, comments, regrams, etc.).
Nissan's Instagram handle saw a 32% organic increase in followers.
The most exciting result, however, were the thousands of comments in which followers exclaimed brand advocacy, utilizing the trigger words. In fact, Nissan and X-Trail were mentioned over 19,000 times.
Below are a few examples (trigger words are underlined)
