Name: Mod My Motor

Category: Brand

Sponsoring newspaper: Torquay Herald Express

Address: Herald Express News and Media Ltd, Harmsworth House,Barton Hill Road, Torquay TQ2 8JN

Editor: Andy Phelan, tel: +44 1803 676000, email:aphelan@heraldexpress.co.uk

Contact: Mike Baker, digital projects. Tel: +44 1803 676264, email:mbaker@heraldexpress.co.uk

Circulation: Daily, 27,500

Description: A targeted campaign inviting young owners to entertheir cars from which our readers voted for their favourite to win a‘Pimp my Ride’ style makeover for the winning car worth over £5,000

Target age: Specifically 17-25

Section 1: Description

Strategy: combine sales and marketing skills of advertisingdepartment, editorial ability to establish engaging newspapercampaign, and in-house digital designers to create innovative,profitable project to raise our profile among target age group

• Readers submit their cars to win a ‘Pimp my Ride’ style makeoverworth over £5,000. Entry via forms in-paper, printed flyers oronline was free

• The project was intended to engage with a younger audience andimprove our brand awareness among 17-25-year-olds using multi-media platforms

• In establishing new revenue streams, we sought to developcommercial relationships with new companies and industry-leading service providers

• Once all the entries were in we would invite readers to vote onthe car they felt most deserving

• Engage with a new, younger audience

• Improve image of Herald Express among 17-25 target agegroup by using a format familiar to them

• Generate revenue from ad sales, sponsorship, text voting andnewspaper sales

• Target new advertisers who would not traditionally spendwith us

• Launch and sustain an engaging, ongoing editorial campaignto boost sales and captivate readers

• Create a low-cost, high-yield campaign capable of beingreplicated across the Northcliffe group, in any location, yearafter year

Project aims

Section 2: Financing & partners

We used all local companiesin the competition, all ofwhich are top performers intheir field.Each paid an upfront fee tobe included in the campaignand also offered work ofsignificant values in theirspecialist field.In all our publicity andeditorial we included each ofthe main sponsors’ logosand did feature articles oneach throughout theprocess, with a final featureon each in the supplementpublished to coincide withthe big reveal

Section 2: Financing

The cost to us was minimal; our only measurable cost being the£150 we spent on the printing of the promotional flyers. The editorialand design work was all carried out in-house, using existing meansof production available to us.

We designed and maintained in-house a bespoke website whichappealed to our target audience – www.modmymotor.org – and theeditorial portion of the campaign was driven and generated by us.

The advertising revenue therefore translated to straight profit, givingus an excellent return and forming the basis of a strong marketingand editorial business model. The success of the campaign showedhow effectively editorial and advertising can utilise their corestrengths and collaborate to achieve something as successful as itwas groundbreaking.

All the sponsors involved in the original campaign have asked to beincluded the next time we run it, slated for early 2010.

Section 3: Promotion, in-paper

TimelineMay 7, 2008 Medialaunch, online and inpaperMay 8 First entries inMay 28 Deadline forentriesJune 2 Special pulloutpublished and all carsgo onlineJune 11 Voting endsJune 13 WinnerannouncedAugust 18Transformation beginsFebruary 12, 2009Finished car revealed

Website

www.modmymotor.orgfeatured a fun game,links to all sponsors,guide to the cars and aninnovative, award-winning design

Video contentWe filmed the process of ‘modding’ thewinner’s motor from start to finish,with videos appearing on our ownwebsite and YouTube

Watch the video here

Promotion online

Other promotion

Flyers doubled up as entryforms and were distributedwidely across ourcirculation area in targetedshops, clubs, bars, mediaoutlets and at oursponsors’ outlets. Thus wetailored the distribution tosuit our target audience

We also promoted the competitionheavily on Palm FM, a local radiostation broadcasting exclusively toour target area. Again, thedemographic they reach suited theaims of our campaign perfectly

Readers entered online, by email, or by filling informs in-paper or printed flyers distributed toshops, bars, cafes and media outlets across theSouth Devon area. They could also send an MMSpicture message with their entries to a dedicatedtext number

Website

In-papercoupon

Entry methods

12-page pullout - text In-paper coupon

Online guide to entries

Voting methods

Section 4: Evaluation

The overall winner of ModMy Motor was a 23-year-oldmale from one of SouthDevon’s more deprivedareas – almost the precisedemographic we wereaiming for.

Almost all our entries camefrom young people in ourdesired age range – provingthe effectiveness of ourtargeted promotionalcampaign, editorial slantand use of an appealingrange of multimediaplatforms

The campaign concluded with a four-page pullout featuring editorial for eachof the sponsors and contact informationas part of the advertising package. Italso allowed us to bring the competitionto a neat conclusion and broughtadditional ad revenue from differentcompanies who wanted to be involved

Conclusion of advertising

• 124 entries with cars ranging from a 1967 Aston Martin DB6to a battered old Reliant Robin

• In excess of 12,000 votes cast, with a roughly 50% splitbetween online and in-paper votes

• Sales lift of 2.7% on the day the supplement was published,and overall increase over entire period of campaign. One of ouroutlets sold over 500 papers in one day when we printeddouble voting coupons

• Clear revenue of just under £15,000 from sponsorship andadvertising, with over £600 revenue from text voting alone.Modification work carried out above the original prize value of£5,000

• More than 10,000 hits from over 1,500 unique users to thewebsite over the campaign period (source: Intellitrackerreports)

Mod My Motor: Final stats