Following the Brexit vote in mid-2016 and its impact on the sterling-euro exchange, the second half of 2016 saw the Irish car market growth start to decline (a trend which has continued to be seen through to today). As a brand that had typically tracked market growth, this industry decline spelt out disaster for Škoda.
The brand was struggling to make enough headway with Irish drivers in terms of consideration, familiarity and likeability. Despite its excellent cars, style & technology, Škoda was a brand proving only popular among farmers and taxi drivers. On a more general scale, the Irish market was feeling more disinterested in what a Škoda had to offer. We needed to obsessively focus on getting Irish drivers to overcome their reluctance to drive a Škoda and make the brand feel more relevant and attractive to them. We needed to disrupt opinion and transform ŠKODA’s image in Ireland from ‘a brand for others’, to ‘a brand for us’.
Rational messages weren’t going to help drive Škoda consideration. To build consideration, we needed to build affinity. To build affinity, we needed to find an emotional hook between Irish drivers and the Škoda brand. After all, we are a nation of drivers. But for years, car companies continued to put out international campaigns with an Irish voice over as the one concession to the local audience. But these cut and paste ads were leaving Irish consumers cold and uninspired.
To tackle this, we gave Škoda’s international tagline “Simply Clever” a uniquely Irish spin. While other markets could boast that Škoda cars were made there, we couldn’t. To get around this, we challenged the power of one little word. We would make a virtue of our lack of Irishness by declaring that whilst not made IN Ireland, everything about a Škoda is made FOR Ireland.
We leaned in on the “Made For Ireland” platform to show just how Irish Škoda really is – from the suspension that seems custom-built for Irish potholes, to umbrellas hidden indoors for that inevitable summer downpour. We tapped into the familiar moments we all experience in our cars and used this to resonate with our audience, and trigger memories that would make them smile.
Once the Made For Ireland platform was established, we were able to use this fluid device in very flexible ways allowing us to deliver our message across national, regional and local channels – embedding the campaign in cities, towns and communities throughout Ireland.
• From 6th to top 5 most popular car model in Ireland
• Grew consideration from 6% to 8%
• Increased likeability from #16 to #9
Growing Škoda’s share in what was already a hotly contested market wasn’t easy. But by demonstrating why Škoda is the perfect fit for Irish drivers with our “Made for Ireland” platform, we overcame the decline in sales seen by other brands. Before our campaign, Škoda was stuck at 6 in every way – 6th place in the market, 6% market share, and 6% first choice consideration share. Following its launch, Made For Ireland saw Škoda pace well ahead of the market, get into the top 5 most popular car model in Ireland, grow consideration levels to 8%, and increase likeability for the brand (#16 to #9).
By outperforming the bigger names, we helped ŠKODA climb the rankings, even cracking the top 5 car brands in Ireland for the very first time. On top of this, the campaign took home a gold for Sustained Effectiveness at Effies.
