CASE STUDY: Tribal DDB Malaysia revs up buzz for Proton's Monte Carlo rally

Background

Proton entered the Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo from 18 to 22 January this year for the very first time as part of its involvement in high-profile motorsports events as a global brand. But the Monte Carlo rally wasn’t as popular in Malaysia as Formula One, so the usual channels, such as PR and above-the-line advertising did not cut it. Tribal DDB Malaysia aimed to create excitement for the actual Monte Carlo Rally using  Proton's microsite and a virtual racing game called 'The Rallye to Monte-Carlo'.

The agency created a web banner using usability studies that revealed that people are least resistant to marketing attempts after they have satisfied their web browsing objectives. So Tribal DDB worked to place its banner at the bottom of the front page of Malaysia’s most popular automotive blog, when people had already finished scanning through the latest content.

Clicking on the banner led to a spirited chase to the top of the page in an attempt to catch the star of the game, the Proton Satria Neo S2000, a call-to-action to play the 'Rallye to Monte-Carlo' racing game. The game pitted users against each other over 20,000 virtual kilometres from Malaysia to Monaco. Players were given a taste of what it was like to drive a rally vehicle and manage a real rally team. 

Players didn’t just have to cross the finish line - they had to solve problems of navigation, engine malfunctions and periodic breakdowns. Friends could be recruited via Facebook to help gather fuel and spare parts, overturn players' cars after accidents and fix leaks.

The grand prize was a chance to cheer on the Proton R3 Rally Team and experience the Monte-Carlo rally with a friend in Monaco.

Results

Tribal DDB Malaysia's campaign achieved over 175,000 unique visits to the microsite, a conversion rate of 38.87 per cent after an average of 10 minutes spent onsite.

Ultimately, Proton's 'Rallye to Monte-Carlo' campaign created more motorsports fans open to the idea of Proton being a serious motorsports participant.