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Jaime Gottlieb
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A south Florida native, Gottlieb is a Creative Writing graduate from Florida State University and was a freelance Arts and Entertainment feature writer before joining ADOTAS in 2004.

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Subaru Drives Traffic with its First Ever Microsite

Written on
January 18th 2006
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by Jaime Gottlieb  |
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This past Friday the 13th (an inauspicious day if ever there was one), Subaru UK Ltd. launched its first ever microsite—timed to coincide with the unveiling of the brand’s 2006 Impreza model at last weekend’s Autosport International Show in Birmingham, England.

The microsite - which is part of a larger campaign created by Elvis, an arm of UK-based agency Miles, Calcraft, Briginshaw, Duffy - utilizes Flash 8 technology to offer visitors everything from video clips of the car in action to car stats and interactive games demonstrating the Impreza’s handling and stability.

Subaru UK’s E-Media/ DM Manager Patrick Marcus explains that “the microsite represents one of the two digital strands of the through-the-line ‘Power Station’ campaign. The other is the wide-scale digital advertising campaign, which went live on [January 16th].” According to Marcus, this aspect entails “HTML emails, DM and newspaper/magazine advertising, [which] drive traffic to the microsite, and there are links to it from the main site.”

And what would a microsite be nowadays without a viral component? According to Marcus, “The microsite contains two games, one of which is viral and invites visitors to challenge up to 5 of their friends, with the opportunity to win adrenaline-charged track days.”

This game allows players to maneuver and race a two-wheel drive car around a track against the new Impreza. Complete three full laps and hit all the check points and you could make it into the monthly drawing to win a day at the track.

The fact that a game like this would typically attract a younger audience instead of Subaru’s typical middle-aged demographic was certainly no accident. “In the past, Impreza has typically secured its greatest following from the 35-54 male audience,” says Marcus. “The new model range has wider appeal than ever before and we hope this to be reflected in a broader cross-section of purchasers, in a more competitive sector.”

For the second game, visitors can test the Impreza’s handling around street cones versus the “generic car,” which (of course) doesn’t maneuver quite as well. If you enjoy the virtual test drive, check out some of the site’s other features including downloadable extras like desktop wallpapers, screensavers and a chance to win exclusive Subaru driving days. Visitors can also set up a test drive at a local dealership straight from the site and avoid the hassle of waiting in person.

The campaign, which is currently slated to run through the end of March, was “born out of the need to create passion for the new Impreza and broaden its appeal to new markets,” as Marcus explains. “The microsite is a perfect means of capturing the essence of a particular car, unhampered by the necessary restrictions of a larger corporate site.”



Reader Comments.

How much do these Microsites cost to make, I wonder?

Posted by John P. | 9:58 am on January 20, 2006.

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