Audi and Aviation Gin Share What It Takes to Win The Moment
Recently, Audi was the latest brand to jump on a growing trend among brands to capitalize on fast moving cultural moments allowing the breakthrough in a new way. Their series of advertisements featuring the Game of Thrones star Kristoffer Hivju, and directed by Norwegian super star Aksel Hennie were a global sensation, and a response to the GM super bowl advertisement featuring Will Ferrel aired just two days prior. Their rapid ability to respond to the moment shows the race to relevance for brands is like all other races. They require speed to win.
Cultural moments have always mattered to brands however current media cycles are so fast they are ephemeral, flashes in time. Here and gone before most brands can blink. Speed has always been a factor in responding to moments in time, and recently social media has been the fastest way to get a brand message out, however a string of new successes from brands like Aviation Gin, and Audi are proof it can be done via mass media too, opening up a new way for brands to stay relevant at the pace of modern life.
To learn more about what it takes to win these ephemeral moments, we caught up with both brands to find out.
What sparked the idea for the advertisement?
Aviation Gin: A text. I sent Ryan a text about the controversy, he said we should shoot something with her and we were off to the races.
Audi: When GM’s videos with Will Ferrell came out, it quickly caught the attention of the Norwegian media. As the topics of the videos were Norway and our electric cars, we knew we had to seize the moment and come up with a proper reply. The Audi e-tron was the most sold car in Norway in 2020, and still is today in February 2021 – so we felt obligated to reply on behalf of the Norwegian people.
How quickly were you able to respond?
Aviation Gin: Under 48 hours.
Audi: 48 hours.
What was the processes your team used to produce this so quickly?
Aviation Gin: The script was basically the last thing that was done. Finding Monica, talking to her about the idea, figuring out the fastest logistics for crew, location and casting took precedence. Most agencies or clients would be highly uncomfortable with that.
Audi: In order to provide a quick response to GM, several processes that are usually done one after the other, had to be run simultaneously. We knew that timing was a critical issue in this case. This means that the casting, location scouting and budget negotiations were almost done, while the idea was properly anchored internally. It was a “fast forward process.” When we spoke to the agency in the afternoon and gave a thumbs up to Kristofer Hivju, they replied that he was already in fitting trying out costumes. All three commercials were filmed the next day, edited through the night and aired in the morning.
Will you do something like this again?
Aviation Gin: 100%
Audi: We are really happy with the result, and the feedback has been fantastic – both nationally and internationally. Naturally, it lights a spark for similar projects in the future.
As brands look for new ways to stay relevant in a fast moving marketplace Audi and Aviation Gin both provide key examples of what, and how. Both examples show the three basic elements to win the moment are to first you must be listening. Next you have to have a rapid approval process, and finally you have to execute fast. Very fast.
For those brands looking to stay relevant at the pace of life they should begin to think about these key elements and put plans in place for how they plan to respond in the future. Just as brands have plans in place for crisis communications, we should put plans in place for how to win the moment. Cultural moments will continue to happen. The question is will you be able to move fast enough to take advantage of it?