EMA winners: Best Launch

This is part of our coverage on GOLD winners from the Event Marketing Awards 2018. See the full list of winners here. 

GOLD winner: Auditoire China
Event: The All-New Lincoln Navigator China Launch 2018
Brand: Lincoln Navigator 

Lincoln wanted something completely different for the launch of its new all-terrain Navigator vehicle in Beijing. There was no actual brief, instead Lincoln asked Auditoire to provide insights and trend analysis on the communications industry, then devise a strategy for standing out.

Most challenging of all – there were no parameters. Penelope Guerineau, creative director at Auditoire China, decided to rethink the interaction between the brand, the product and the audience through disruptive, immersive storytelling.

A standard press conference and reveal turned into something more engaging when instead of posing for photographs, the car sped off backstage and the audience was invited to follow. From here they embarked on an interactive adventure trail through different terrains dotted with live performers.

Guests wore RFID bracelets to “check-in” at points on rocks, trees and walls, which activated content and measured flow.

It was Auditoire’s first launch for Lincoln following a branded driving experience and hospitality programme for its SUV family across three provinces in August-September 2017.

Within 24 hours of the launch, 85 clippings had been collected with an advertising value of RMB2,183,500 (US$341,465). On social media, Lincoln China official accounts and KOLs across different categories attracted 6,086 new fans, generated 44,058,305 impressions, and 105,710 engagements both on Weibo and WeChat.

The Weibo trending topic made 201,504,000 impressions and 113,000 engagements. The conversation volume around Lincoln reached 37,891.

Read our case study of the event here.