Kitcatt Nohr Digitas

 

Back at the start of the year, Saab launched a new campaign to relaunch the brand in the US.

You can see the logic, the conventionally unconventional driver's first choice had just been cut loose from its parent in Detroit, and wanted to make the most of its independence. Hence 'the Story of Saab'.

You can almost see the brief. 'We want to get down into our brand dna and give people something to hold on to. It's a bit like this ad we've found from the sixties. You won't have heard of it. It's called 'Lemon'.'

Now, to be fair, they've executed their Jif Lemon version better than most of the brands who've tried it since DDB. (So no one can accuse me of sour grapes - or any other fruit, for that matter.)

But are they satisfied with a big, old-fashioned advertising campaign? Oh no they're not.

They want engagement. And specifically, they want Saab-lovers t create their own digital content. First by using a template to make messages to post on their Facebook wall and share with friends. And then, to run as digital display on paid-for media.

They think it's a good idea. As Nicole Jankowski, Saab Cars North America’s Marketing Communications Manager, explains:

“Saab has an incredibly loyal owner and fan base. Over the past year we have heard from fans all over the world and they are so passionate about the cars they love. Who better to tell the Story of Saab than the people who make it what it is." 

Their agency agrees, in the person of Jennifer Swantek, Vice President, Account Director, McCann Worldgroup Team Saab:

“Saab fans are a very devoted and passionate group... As we were working to relaunch the brand, we knew it would be important to find ways to leverage Saab’s loyal fan base. People want to share their passion for the Saab brand. They just needed an outlet. Now, through Facebook, we can give our enthusiasts that voice.”

I'm not sure they have given their enthusiasts a voice at all. I think they've given them a brief to produce some advertising - and that should actually be the agency's job, shouldn't it? I'm reminded of an old rhyme about how creative work goes bad that ends with the words: 'only in the direst cases/should you show the clients' faces.'

But secondly, and a bit more worryingly, I think this approach shows a fundamental misunderstanding about the ways in which social media can help brands.

I don't think the best way to do that is by imagining some bought media - in this case online display ads - and then getting the punter to create it.

I think it's much more a case of finding ways to harness enthusiasm and passion and getting people to share that in their own way.

This doesn't mean you can't produce interesting and innovative work in this way: The VW 'people's reviewer' campaign was a genuinely interesting way to create interest.

But it does mean thinking about things a little differently.