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Published: 13.10.2023

BMW created safer winter driving

Together with driving enthusiast Kjetil Jansrud, BMW convinced readers that safe winter driving saves lives.
WINNER OF Q2: Thea Høgh, Marketing Manager at BMW together with Sindre Hellkås, Strategic Group Customer Manager at Aller Media.
WINNER OF Q2: Thea Høgh, Marketing Manager at BMW together with Sindre Hellkås, Strategic Group Customer Manager at Aller Media.

- It's really fun that BMW won! We managed to make Norwegian motorists more aware of safe winter driving! Yes, I would dare to say that we have saved lives," says Sindre Hellkås, Strategic Group Account Manager at Aller Media.

In 2022, Norwegian roads claimed 116 lives - 38 more fatalities than the previous year. As a major car player in the market, BMW took responsibility.

As the marketing manager at BMW says:

"If we can get one driver to be a little more consistent on winter roads, it's worth it. We have no lives to lose."

The goal was therefore first and foremost to raise awareness among Norwegians about safe driving in winter, and secondly to talk about how good BMWs are on winter roads. In the campaign, Aller Media's job was to get people to read, learn and use the information.

- Car advertising often focuses on pure branding of brand and model, or has campaigns on interest rates. Here we went in the complete opposite direction, with no focus on either brand or model. The campaign had to be relevant to everyone in traffic, not just BMW buyers," says Hellkås.

If you are part of the challenge, you must also be part of the solution!

An incredible 350,000 chose to read an average of over 40 seconds on topics that are both heavy and serious. As many as 41% of readers became more aware of how to drive on winter roads.

Part of their success was that they used the news and timing to make the campaigns more relevant. A story about fresh snow when the first snow fell or a cottage story in the run-up to the weekend.

- "The fact that we managed to lock Kjetil Jansrud was also completely insane. He has been sponsored by a competitor throughout his alpine skiing career. We got him to join the BMW team, while he was also going to be in the media during the World Championships," says a satisfied Sindre Hellkås.

"I'm so pleased that such an important topic is getting a little extra attention. It has been an honor to work with so many knowledgeable and creative people at Aller, and not least with Kjetil Jansrud who was our main character. I share this with all of them! This just proves that thinking outside the box and what is expected pays off. The theme of the case is for everyone who drives a car, not just BMW."

- Thea Høgh, Marketing Manager at BMW