SKODA ‘Driven by Something Different’

For years in the UK Skoda had been the butt of jokes.

There was a stigma about the brand and Skoda continued to sit towards the bottom of most people’s consideration lists.

Yet perception lagged reality and as we entered 2016 these exceptionally reliable, increasingly good looking, almost functionally perfect and exceptionally good value cars were serially winning the top awards at the major motor shows.

We realised we needed to make the brand more aspirational and, critically, that we needed to do so with the younger audience that represented the new car buying market.

It was time to shed the quirky, self-effacing tonality the brand was known for and to celebrate Skoda cars with confidence.

When we analysed who buys a Skoda, one thing became clear – Skoda drivers are different.

These are people who don’t care about ‘badges’ and feel the fact they are driving a car that is just as good as, if not better than, cars £15,000 more expensive makes them not just different but smart.

This DNA lined up well with the younger audience that comprises the new car buying market.

Research told us that the idea of being more independent of mind, of having a more progressive approach to life, of being less mainstream and more individual, of going their own way, of going against the grain and getting more out of life as a result was not just the truth of the current Skoda driver but also hugely aspirational to this younger audience.

This gave us the opportunity to portray a Skoda driver as being smart enough to spend wisely rather than spend big - as being not the same as everyone else but as being ‘Driven by Something Different’.

This ‘Driven by Something Different’ platform not only captures a unique spirit but also positions the brand in a distinct and interesting way.

Most rewardingly, it is now embedded right into the heart of the Skoda business as an enduring, long-term platform.

And whilst it is too early to talk substantively about effectiveness, the early indicators have been exceptionally positive and the Skoda business has just recorded its most successful quarter ever.

‘The Climb’

To turbo-charge the launch of the ‘Driven by Something Different’ platform and to make sure it landed, we looked for someone in the public eye who typified the DBSD gene – someone who was independent of mind and spirit, someone very much their own person.

Sir Bradley Wiggins was hard to beat.

Well known for being true to himself, Bradley Wiggins is a humble, understated, cool British cyclist who embodies perfectly the attitude we want to champion.

He is also extremely popular with our UK audience and of course a perfect fit with Skoda’s cycling heritage and involvement.

We looked at a lot of ideas for the launch film but a young team I had hired from placement, Emma Thomas and Ryan Delaney, had the idea that what defines elite cyclists – their ability to climb the toughest mountains – provides a metaphor for Bradley’s life.

This launch film was shot by Martin Kreijci through Stink.

‘Time’

Having launched Skoda’s new ‘Driven by Something Different’ platform with the Sir Bradley Wiggins fronted ‘The Climb’, it was now time to launch the Kodiaq.

We decided to position this award-winning 4-wheel drive as the perfect opportunity to reconnect with what’s important in life and the lovely Phoebe Coulton and Nicolas Tasker wrote this idea examining the way time plays different roles in Bradley’s life.

The film was directed by Novemba - Blair Macdonald and Oliver Clark – through Academy.

The Sunday Times ‘Alternative Rich List’

Core to the ‘Driven by Something Different’ strategy is the identification of the Skoda driver as someone more interested in experiential than financial wealth.

The annual Sunday Times Rich List, a ranking of the 100 wealthiest people in Britain, is an institution and when we approached The Sunday Times with the idea to create an ‘Alternative Rich List’ featuring the most experientially wealthy people in Britain, they loved the idea and felt they should have done it years ago.

The Skoda sponsored ‘Alternative Rich List’, a 16 page supplement bound in to the traditional Sunday Times Rich List, achieved fantastic PR for the brand, particularly on social media.

‘From Here’

With our ‘Driven by Something Different’ platform idea, we had identified the Skoda driver as someone interested in experiential rather than, necessarily, financial wealth.

Consequently, to launch Skoda’s new 4-wheel drive we wanted to encourage people to ‘reconnect’ with what’s important in life.

Ricardo Motti and Ronaldo Tavares had an idea about geographical coordinates and, together with Henry Kozak, our lead planner on Skoda, we brainstormed to push the idea further until we arrived at this digital media idea that, using real time data, reminded people just how close great experiences in the UK can be.

‘Driven by Something Different’

Our relationship with our Skoda clients is such that we don’t sit on the edge of their business lobbing in TV scripts from the sidelines.

Instead we sit right in the centre, nurturing a deep understanding of their commercial and organisational landscape. 

We always knew that ‘Driven by something different’ couldn’t be just an advertising end line.

It had to be a statement of intent for the entire Skoda business – a business that felt a little let down and held back by its brand.

From marketing to fleet to sales, the entire Skoda organisation has taken the brand idea and run with it.

And so inspired were the client team, they created an internal film of what it means to them to be ‘Driven by Something Different’.