Skoda in-car hostel
Skoda Fabia
Issue 28 | September 2013
Agency
Proximity Moscow (BBDO Russia)
Creative Team
Creative Directors: Luis Tauffer, Andres Vergara Art Directors: Luis Tauffer, Ivan Malakhov Copywriter: Polina Zabrodskaya Creative Technologist: Ilya Andreyev Client Services Director: Natalia Ten Managing Director: Julia Bogdanovich Group Account Director: Oleg Malyutin Producers: Valery Gorokhov, Giuliana Giora
Date
June 2013
Background
For many young Russians, buying their first car was more affordable than ever.
Skoda wanted to tap into this new and growing market with the Skoda Fabia. The problem, however, was awareness. No-one had heard of Skoda.
Idea
In summer, many young Russians made their way to Moscow, which was where all the music and parties and happenings took place.
What they did was to go online to look for a hostel, where they could stay. In summer 2013, though, if they searched online for somewhere to stay at Tripping. com, the very first hostel they saw on the page was actually a Skoda Fabia.
A car was converted into a hostel, with a double-bed, free wi-fi, everything any young tourist could need. (The bathroom was next to the car.) It was parked in Izmailovo Park, one of the loveliest spots of the city, so guests got the best views. They could even take the hostel for a test drive.
Payment was by tweets, likes and mentions.
Results
The hostel was fully booked and had great feedback from its guests.
Our Thoughts
The auto market is one of the most conservative of all sectors. By and large, most car makers still rely on traditional media to get their message across.
How refreshing, then, to see a car company actually thinking about its target audience first rather than about their car.
If you work out who you want to talk to, where they go and what they do there, you can arrange to meet them in their favourite places, share their pleasures and become relevant to them in their lives. Then they will start to talk about you and maybe even recommend you to their friends.
Sounds obvious. But ideas like this from Proximity Russia are still embarrassingly rare.