When a car company sells out of every single vehicle they make, why bother using social media? Because Ferrari enthusiasts are a discerning crowd who expect the very best. Ferrari came to Carrot Creative to make sure their online experience felt just as premium as the vehicles they build.
To quench the insatiable thirst of Ferrari enthusiasts, Ferrari and Carrot developed a social campaign celebrating Ferrari "Firsts."
The objective of the Ferrari Firsts Instagram experience was to build excitement and buzz around the new Ferrari 488's debut on track at The Rolex 24 in Daytona. In order to launch the new Ferrari 488, we wanted to pay homage to the much-admired 458 by creating a mobile experience that uses Instagram's grid format to tell the unique stories of both vehicles through a series of "firsts" facts. To help Ferrari introduce the new 488 GT, successor to the championship-winning 458 GT, Carrot Creative launched "Ferrari Firsts." This campaign hacked Instagram's features to create a one-of- a-kind experience.
While other brands have made creative use of Instagram's grid format, we pushed the platform even further by giving users two completely different visual experiences in one. As users scrolled through a seamless collage of photos and learned about the crowning achievements of the 458 GT, they were prompted to flip the orientation of their phone and scroll in the opposite direction to get a first look at the new 488 GT.
This visual and physical transition illustrated Ferrari's shift from the 458 GT to the new 488 GT and helped the brand engage with users in an unexpected, powerful way.
The campaign received organic promotion via the Ferrari USA account to drive the existing 400K fans to the new account in tandem with paid posts that helped attract new fans.
The Ferrari Firsts campaign held the top trending spot on Instagram during the first week the account was live and dominated the conversation during the #Rolex24 race. Additionally, the promotion helped sell-out tickets to the Ferrari hospitality suite event in a record time of just 5 days.
Best of all, the campaign made waves within the Ferrari organization. As Paul Montopoli from Ferrari stated, "The Ferrari Firsts Instagram account has been one of the most innovative digital executions we've seen come from Ferrari North America. The whole Ferrari team was extremely excited about the idea and saw the real value it had for our dedicated Ferrari racing fans. The Instagram profile beautifully pays homage to the highly regarded 458 GT and then cleverly introduces fans to the next chapter via the 488 GT."
