Nearly 50 percent of today's American youth are non-Caucasian, yet many mainstream marketing campaigns neglect this target. Not Unilever. The maker of AXE, currently the bestselling men's personal care brand in the U.S., set out to influence the one audience that was defining popular culture and just happened to gel perfectly with AXE's sleek and edgy brand personality. To generate awareness of AXE's cool credentials among 18- to 34-year-old automobile enthusiasts (aka "tuners" or "gearheads") of Latino, Asian, and African-American descent, Unilever created the "The Ultimate Seduction Vehicle," a fully-loaded Infiniti QX56 that provided a phat place for the AXE guy to get his girl. Since gearheads consume interactive, online media that speaks to them in their language, Edelman created the AXERide.com contest and website.
AxeRide.com provided fun and interactive functionality beyond the contest entry and gave entrants a reason to share their experience with friends and interact with the site repeatedly. It showcased the features of the "Ultimate Seduction Vehicle" through an interactive scroll bar that allowed visitors to view the car's interior and exterior, get specs on the gear, and see and read about the making of the car. Photos with the sexy AXE Angels inside and around the car also created a buzz. The contest page instructed the visitor to upload a digital photo of his car and explain in a short essay how tricking out his car would help him get the girl.
AXERide.com received more than 30,000 visits due solely to word of mouth, and the contest received four times the number of entries received by the previous AXE-branded competition. Said the client: "The enhanced experience of AXERide.com gave tuners a reason to share the experience with others and continue to interact with the brand, which delivered increased brand equity amongst the tuner audience."
Credit Information
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Client: Unilever
Agency: Edelman
Budget: $50K
Date of Campaign: Late 2006
Contact Name: Alexandra Levit
Case Study URL: http://presentation.edelman.com/Axe/AxeRide
