M&C Saatchi Abel drives another challenger brand to the top

M&C Saatchi Abel has joined forces with tyre fitment specialists BestDrive, creating an ad that is sure to make this challenger brand top of mind.

This is not the first time the agency has created a campaign that turns a challenger into a champion, as evidenced by its work with brands like Hollard, Heineken and Nando’s.

Now, the agency prepares to make consumers rethink their tyre purchases, as most consumers select tyre dealerships based on proximity and price. It’s difficult to persuade them that it’s worth extra effort to choose a specific dealership, unless you can provide an unshakeable reason for doing so. This is precisely what M&C Saatchi Abel has set out to do, highlighting the brand’s most appealing attributes in an endearing and humorous way.

Mark Winkler, Creative Director at M&C Saatechi Abel, explains that the agency’s brief – to develop awareness of the brand and differentiate from parity offerings – was made more complicated by the need to blend the values traditionally associated with German brand Continental (precision, rigour and performance) with the softer attributes linked to BestDrive: accessibility, service, friendliness and advice.The solution? “We created a host of charming, quirky characters who embody the brand values we wished to highlight,” Winkler says. Each of these characters stars in their own TVC, the first of which will flight in November, while the remaining two will go on air in 2018. Consumers have recently been introduced to Hannah, whose obsession with balance is an enviable trait in someone assigned to fitting your tyres. The characters’ focus on cleanliness and perfection make them a metaphor for the BestDrive offering.

The TVCs, which were produced by Patriot and directed by Anton Visser, will be complimented by an English and Afrikaans radio element promoting specific brand properties, an integrated social media campaign that emphasises the importance of German engineering and the assuredness it provides, and POS elements that again speak to advantages of German engineering while also promoting product and price.

Winkler reports that, for the sake of authenticity, the TVCs were filmed inside BestDrive dealerships. Moreover, the voiceover for the Afrikaans ads was provided by legendary former newsreader Riaan Cruywagen.

“The elements of the ad are clever,” comments Kevin Slabbert, Managing Director of ContiTrade Africa. “Filming inside a fitment centre helps to tell the consumer exactly what BestDrive is. The theme of the ad is around German pedigree, precision, professionalism and getting things right first time in an efficient manner. I believe that telling the consumer we are a fitment centre offering good value, and our association with Continental, gives consumers a new option; one that is currently unmatched by other fitment centres.”

“We’ve highlighted the fact that, with BestDrive’s German precision, consumers are assured of the very best service and workmanship,” Winkler concludes.

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