The tale of Family Porsche
By Simon Fuller. How do you promote a car model 60 years in the making? Well, why not construct a branded experience that not only taps into that heritage but also the tales consumers have to tell about their histories with the brand.
That’s pretty much what US-based interactive agency Fi did when it was tasked when coming up with a website that would be integrated into the Porsche Panamera Welcome To The Family launch campaign for the car maker’s first four-seater car.
The website features a ‘family tree’ through which fans can leave their own memories and relay their experiences of Porsche’s cars through a guestbook-style function. And the result is a small library of UGC to which over 2,500 people have so far contributed.
“Porsche is an iconic brand and Panamera was something unprecedented in the history of Porsche,” says Fi’s CEO, David Martin. “Our idea was to tap that history and bring it forward, utilising a unique family tree and user-generated content. Our aim of introducing the Panamera can be boiled down to those goals and concepts – to demonstrate the absolute quality and beauty of Porsche and to showcase the attachment, and sense of history and nostalgia for the brand.”
The website also revs up the interactive element by offering visitors a chance to explore Porsche’s range of vehicles through a series of 3D models via which car enthusiasts can learn about the history of classics like the 500c right through to the Panamera itself.
“We focused on all the little details, from the engine rumble to the quality of the animation and design,” says Martin. “We wanted everything to exude the Porsche name and sense of quality.”
Crucial to the Panamera website is a sense of storytelling, not only about Porsche but about consumers too.
“Brands are realising that they can no longer rely solely on the traditional medium of storytelling – the television commercial,” explains Martin. “As the web has become more important every year, and the level of reach has eclipsed all other communication mediums, that sense of storytelling has had to evolve to fit the medium.
“But the trick is in how to achieve that level of emotional response and storytelling without simply form-fitting a 30-second spot onto the web. Interactive at its heart is a two-way communication medium and allows for new methods of storytelling. Allowing people to share stories and reminisce about their experiences provokes that same emotional response without relegating them to a TV experience.”
