ABOUT

How can you test drive a car that doesn’t exist yet?

We were tasked with revealing Ford’s latest EV to a European consumer audience and driving reservations ahead of its dealership launch. We knew that the most effective method of driving reservations or sales is physically getting behind the wheel of a new car. So, in a world where that wasn’t possible… we needed to find a completely new approach.

Using cutting-edge technology in the form of Unreal Engine, we built a virtual All-Electric Ford Explorer that took centre stage in a stunning reveal film, streamed live across YouTube and LinkedIn, landing a powerful brand-quality message. At the point of reveal, audiences were invited to experience the car in a whole new way, entering into an online driving experience that increased product consideration, having a powerful effect on driving reservations.

Technology alone cannot deliver a true emotional connection. Working with the campaign platform ‘Exploring Reinvented,’ we told the true story of Aloha Wanderwell, the first female explorer to travel around the world in a Ford Model T. 100 years later, the reveal film featured Lexie Alford, a modern-day female explorer, announcing her challenge to reimagine Aloha’s journey in Ford’s All-Electric Explorer. We didn’t just launch a new vehicle, we told a story with resonance and meaning for our female-focused target audience.

Once Lexie had helped reveal the new Explorer, audiences were invited to play the part of director in their own interactive experience. Picking a beautiful test-drive landscape, deciding the car’s colour, and selecting their favourite soundtrack before choosing from drone, POV and cinematic cameras to explore the product and its features in their Virtual Test Drive.

We utilised the latest version of Unreal Engine, the RealTime 3D graphics platform that powers the world’s biggest AAA games, to create both the reveal film CGI elements and the world's most significant automotive pixel-streamed application. Delivered to any device through a web browser, this kind of experience is typically reserved for high-end gaming PCs and game consoles.

We took advantage of Unreal Engine’s unrivalled capabilities by authoring one set of assets that were used across the full experience. This resulted in consistency across the virtual production, green screen shoots, CGI for the reveal film, as well as the interactive Virtual Test Drive. By doing so we created not only coherence but also efficiencies across the full campaign.

Awareness of the reveal experience was driven through a media plan that ran across both paid and organic social; Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. We created assets that were curated for each audience; longer forms for automotive media and shorter social cut-downs to reach a wider pool of Ford’s potential customer base.

The launch video was live-streamed across 7 countries, reaching 155,800 people through YouTube and LinkedIn. Awareness was boosted through a media plan spanning paid and organic social channels, reaching 57.5m total video views across the wider campaign in the following weeks.

On average, visitors to automotive websites spend less than a minute interacting with the brand**. The Virtual Test Drive surpassed engagement expectations with an average interaction time of 4 minutes, allowing audiences to spend significant time with the brand, and, crucially, the product, through effective, innovative technology. The total number of Virtual Test Drive streams, from March to March 2024 was 428,500. Crucially, the experience was also successful in meeting the core objective of driving consideration to purchase, with visitors being 3x more likely to convert to a reservation if they took part in the Virtual Test Drive.

The experience was part of a multi-channel campaign that resulted in more than a 40% increase in vehicle reservations compared to the originally briefed target. Through strategic and innovative creative thinking, this experience succeeded in raising the profile and recognition of Ford as a front-runner in electrification and technology and landed a powerful brand message through emotive, relatable storytelling - a story only Ford could tell.