Mazda’s MX-30 launch (their first electric car)
Creative direction on wheels
The Mazda MX-30 was an interesting campaign project because it is Mazda’s first electric vehicle (EV) and I was faced with a blend of interesting creative, strategic, and technical tasks.
The campaign, “Life Specs”, puts a spin on how technical specs are perceived by making it more whimsical, e.g. “Top Speed: 140 miles per hour”, becomes “Top Speed: 140 smiles per hour”; or “Energy: Battery for up to 4 days” turns into “Energy: Battery for busy days”. The campaign was done together with VLMY&R and director Daniel Börjesson. Three aspects were crucial for me: authenticity and relatability, bespoke, and sustainability (quality or product materials).
The campaign and product were launched initially in 27 Europe in 2021 and globally in 2022.
During the ideation stages, details of the product (car) were not 100% clear yet—there was a target audience, the core principle that it will be an EV, and that it had a small SUV shape. Additionally, Mazda as a brand was not as well-known in Europe, and that due to Covid-19 (the car was announced in 2020), people were critical of their purchases.
I came up with micro teasers on social media, focused on shapes and atmosphere—using imagery that conveyed where the car fits in setting and lifestyles. It touches on the idea, “What matters”, which was the springboard for the MX-30 campaign.
The campaign for the MX-30 electric vehicle centred on "Rethink what matters", and I pitched two ideas based on that.
For the first idea, I wanted to “break stereotypes” about people and electric vehicles by showcasing how the car fits diverse lifestyles. The second idea emphasised the car's emotional value—it's “more than just a metal box”. I also proposed an app to track driving patterns, addressing range anxiety (as the MX-30 can only go upto 200km in one charge) while research showed most people only drive 39.4km daily, which the MX-30's 200km range comfortably covers. Finally, given the Covid-19 context, a digital livestream launch would enable authentic, personal connections with potential buyers.
Parallel to producing the pitch ideas, I also did extensive consumer behaviour research to better understand, e.g.:
How Mazda as a brand vs. product is performing in the European market;
How different audiences perceive Mazda, e.g. consumers vs. journalists, dealers, and social media;
How EVs are perceived in Europe (both good and bad associations);
How consumers react to certain trends, design and technical topics, and how diverse these reactions are across different markets.
This research is used - to date - to inform the brand strategy in general but also for upcoming products. Some interesting findings include
women actually being common purchasers of EVs (45%) even though they are often placed as secondary target audiences
(a finding that largely influenced the campaign to be more gender-neutral than male-targeting), that emotional purchases (i.e. “direct reflection of one’s self”) have increased drastically since the 4th week of lockdowns in 2020, and that even though Mazda is not yet well-known in Europe, those who actually own said cars are very strong brand ambassadors within their social circles.
After multiple pitches, VLMY&R Vienna's "Life Specs" campaign was selected, built on my research and pitches. Transitioning from brand researcher to creative director, I defined the campaign's visual style and concepts.
The challenge? Creating compelling 6-second social media ads with just 8 seconds of audience attention. Our solution: modular videos that could be combined into longer formats, focusing on authentic moments, relatable feelings, and unexpected colours like pinks and greens. The goal was to stand out from typical car commercials.
Credits to VLMY&R Vienna and Daniel Börjesson, as the for the campaign assets were done in collaboration with them and the Mazda team.
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