Vine Drives Real Value For Toyota & Saatchi

Brands have been backing Vine for some time now. There’s a plethora of six-second content from all sorts of brands surfacing on the short-form video platform, driving huge value for all involved.

However, it’s not as easy as just deciding you want to use Vine and pointing and shooting.

Brands looking to get cut-through with their consumers need to create a native look and feel to their content that resonates with their target audiences. Short-form users on platforms like Vine won’t settle for intrusive, unauthentic video content – there’s way too much other great content on the platform to capture their attention. You have to get it right, or else users will simply swipe on.

So it’s no surprise that brands are looking to Vine experts to help them out. Problem is brand partnerships can often be a tough gig for content creators. Viners often tell stories of global brands they have worked with who admit they simply don’t get the medium but know they’ve got to be in it to win it.

It’s a tough situation for a content creator simply trying to make a living from their art. Get it wrong and you’ll potentially scare off the loyal audience you’ve been nurturing for months/ years.

Enter Toyota UK, a brand not scared to have a bit of fun and, most importantly, willing to experiment with new mediums. The autos brand saw the launch of the new Toyota Aygo earlier this year as the opportunity to get into a very playful and disruptive space that would allow them to connect with a younger audience.

“Toyota GB are hugely active on Twitter and wanted to embrace the opportunity to reach a wider younger audience with native video content through Vine,” said Jemma Shaw, Digital and Advertising Specialist, Toyota UK.

Under the #GoFunYourself philosophy, Toyota identified Vine as a key tool both to match the playful and creative spirit of the campaign and to showcase the car in new and exciting ways.

Knowing the audience’s expectations, Toyota approached the very best Viners with a history of highly-visualised creatives. They were challenged to capture the elements of the Aygo campaign and model them in their own unique style, from the personality of the car to key features.

GooRee – aka Gwri Pennar – was the British Vine star selected by the brand. The result?

I caught up with Gwri to get his thoughts on the creative partnership:

“I was absolutely thrilled to have the chance to work with Toyota and Saatchi & Saatchi. The brief of the campaign looked fun, bold and exciting. I then sourced a local production team to bring the ideas to life. The team had a lot of fun during the production, it was very complex creatively to make, and I believe this expresses itself through the Vines.”

Despite their complexity, the Vines have performed incredibly well, giving the audience an immediate snapshot of the Aygo model and the #GoFunYourself concept. They were also supported on the Toyota UK and partner Twitter channels, backed up by concentrated media spend to help extend the campaign’s reach.

So far the Vines have smashed brand engagement targets, with over 36,000 loops, 500+ Likes and 80+ Re-Vines on the platform and a further 150 across Facebook and Twitter.

But then this is just another great example of a brand getting native cut-through in a time when the online video landscape can look a cluttered, daunting place for any brand marketer looking to make its mark.

Connecting content creator and brand isn’t a new idea, but, as with any creative project, it’s all in the execution.