Peugeot – case study
Background
The consultancy was employed to support Peugeot’s in-house press
team and assist with press release writing, feature ideas, photography,
crisis management, UK press launches, organising and running bi-annual
away days and to act as a general ‘sounding board’.
The Challenge
With an increasingly competitive new car market, Peugeot found itself
in a dilemma with the launch of its important new supermini - the Peugeot
107. The 107 shares the same platform and running gear as its joint
venture stablemates, the Citroën C1 and Toyota Aygo,
but with its introduction to the UK scheduled to follow the other two
brands.
LawsonClarke PR was asked to come up with a cost effective solution to ensure maximum impact for the new model which is an important replacement for the highly successful, volume selling Peugeot 106.
The Solution
LawsonClarke PR decided to turn the conventional
press launch on its head. Instead of inviting
journalists to attend a central venue for a press conference and
test-drive, we would take the press launch to them!
To achieve this, the event concentrated on meeting the journalists' core needs:
- to make the best use of their time
- to give them sufficient driving opportunity
- to provide all the information required
resulting in a short, sharp, effective solution.
By dividing the UK into five regions, the in-house and consultancy team targeted 107 journalists over one week, visiting them with the car at their homes or offices, providing a test-drive and giving a detailed introduction to the product. To meet an average of four journalists a day with a test-drive appointment time of 1.5 hours was an ambitious plan, but necessary in order to get the car seen by ‘launch weary’ journalists in the time available.The launch theme was: The new Peugeot 107 – bringing it to you!
The Results
Extremely positive feedback was received from journalists who liked the
originality and effort behind the launch; they also appreciated being
able to make their initial assessment of the car in such a time efficient
way.
Over 200 press cuttings were received after the event. Titles covering the launch included: The Scotsman, Derby Evening Telegraph, Oxford Mail and Bristol Evening Post. Trade magazines AM and Fleet News also covered the launch.