• Citroën wanted its C5 model to appeal to a more elite audience
• TV was at the heart of an integrated campaign to boost the brand ahead of the September registration period
• The C5 gained a four fold increase in sector share as a result

The challenge

French car manufacturer Citroën wanted to pitch its C5 saloon model as a credible company car alternative to German competitors Audi and BMW. It knew this would be no easy task - not only has Citroën traditionally been thought of as a value brand, it also lacks the German heritage typically associated with top-end cars.

The challenge was to change perceptions of the brand and to increase the C5 model's sector share by 0.5%.

The TV solution

The strap-line '"Unmistakably German*" *Made in France' was chosen to front the campaign, of which TV was the key component.

Online pre-roll teases of the TV ad and spots on Pub TV were designed to kick start conversations amongst the target audience, whilst outdoor and cinema activity and the creation of a C5 micro-site further maximised campaign reach.

The first ads appeared on Pub TV ahead of the main TV campaign launch, followed by online video ads which ran on a variety of motoring and lifestyle websites. Five weeks from the main TV launch, they were replaced with 10" teasers for the TV ad. This meant that by the time the TV campaign was launched, the ad itself had already been viewed by thousands of early adopters and influentials.

TV was the key launch medium as it was the only medium capable of delivering the levels of coverage that were needed quickly, combined with impact and engagement.

The campaign launched with a 90 second spot in the Champions League quarter final, delivering nearly a million ABC1 men impacts. This was repeated on Sky Sports the next day.

After that, the focus switched to appointment to view programmes such as Formula 1 and films such as Oceans 11 - as the target audience were deemed generally light TV viewers who tended to engage with appointment to view programmes.

Initial TV planning aimed to optimise a "seen once" frequency of the long form ad to maximise the impact from this version. Thereafter, the optimum frequency was calculated to be 3-6.

At this stage, pre and post roll advertising on Sky's anytime platform, was also introduced - delivering an additional 5.8 million ad views. As well as delivering solus reach, this also enabled increased engagement through a 2 minute post-roll video.

Following this initial burst of TV activity in April 2008, two follow up bursts rolled in June and August - ensuring that awareness was maintained in the lead up to the key September registration period.

Results

In the six months up to the initial launch of the C5, sector share had averaged 0.4% per month. In the last eight months of 2008, this increased to 1.8% - a more than four fold increase. September registrations were up 230% year-on-year in a sector that was down around 3.6%.

In addition, spontaneous awareness of the C5 has risen from 3% to 15%, and purchase consideration up 50% from 4% to 6%.

The core messages were clearly getting through as agreement with key statements had increased. For example, "the Citroën C5 is…:-

"…technologically advanced" - up from 12% to 32%
"…good value for money" - up from 10% to 28%
"…reliable/a high quality car" - up from 15% to 30%

In addition to the 20 million+ ABC1 men reached by the TV campaign, the TV ad has also been viewed more than 350,000 times on You Tube and The Guardian, Independent and Metro have all run editorial on it. It was even the subject of a motion in the House of Commons.