LONDON, UK — Leo Burnett UK and Škoda have launched a new social-first campaign for the fourth-generation Octavia, using the voices of the car model’s biggest fans: the Reddit community.
The campaign, “You Said It,” focuses on an online audience of Škoda Octavia enthusiasts from the Reddit forum “r/CarTalkUK.”
Described as “the definitive subreddit for British petrolheads and inquisitive car drivers alike,” the forum boasts over 350,000 members who have adopted the Škoda Octavia as its unofficial mascot with the rhyming moniker, “Our Lord and Saviour, the Škoda Octavia.” This inspired the campaign proposition: ‘If you know, you know’, written to capture Octavia’s “insider” status for people passionate about cars.
To transform these dedicated fans into active advocates for the 2024 model, Leo Burnett UK and Škoda have handed over the keys to Reddit members with the first-ever “Reddit Car Share.” Participants from across the length and breadth of the UK were the very first to test-drive the new fourth-generation Octavia before the press, retailers, and even before the car was photographed for marketing.
Redditors’ driving experiences and testimonials will be turned into headlines such as “Notice how time and space bend around the vehicle as a mark of respect” and amplified across OOH, print, social, and digital. Highlighting that the Škoda Octavia is the chosen car of people who know about cars, each execution will be accompanied by the campaign slogan “You Said It.”
For the campaign’s final stage, Škoda and Leo Burnett will also create the first car configured by Reddit. From the body shape to the paint, wheels, engine, and tech, Octavia’s special edition will be chosen exclusively by those who know it best. To have a say on “The Reddit Edit,” fans will be able to vote via Reddit until July 21.* The finished Octavia is set to be made and retailed from July 24.
Mark Elwood, Chief Creative Officer at Leo Burnett UK, said, “When people have good things to say about your product, sometimes the best thing the agency can do is to get out of the way and give them the platform to do it. Our fans have given us funny, compelling messages to sell the Octavia that we would never have gotten away with ourselves. Here’s to people power.”
Kirsten Stagg, Marketing Director at Škoda, added, “The Octavia is a quietly brilliant vehicle in our range, and I’m so pleased we’ve found the right way to celebrate it. Harnessing the power of fandom can be a tricky thing, but this campaign has shown us how to engage fans in the right way: using them not just to build our credibility but also to deliver a creative and original campaign that is bang on Škoda’s human tone-of-voice.”
CREDITS:
CAMPAIGN TITLE: ‘You Said It’
CLIENT: Škoda UK
ADVERTISING AGENCY: Leo Burnett London
CCO: Mark Elwood
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Graham Lakeland
SENIOR CREATIVE: Helen Rogerson & Owen Hunter Jenkins
SOCIAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Beth Manning
PLANNING PARTNER: Henry Gray
SENIOR PLANNER: Joe Crust
MANAGING PARTNER: Liam Hopkins
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Tobias Dahlhaus
SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER: Lou Mehrhof
AGENCY PRODUCER: Peter Lewendon
MEDIA BUYING AGENCY: PHD
MEDIA PLANNER: David White
