GM Holden’s Instagram media-first via Carat and AJF Partnership drives 30PT lift in ad recall

Iconic Australian automotive brand, GM Holden, in partnership with Carat Australia and AJF Partnership, has launched a media-first on Instagram, becoming the first automotive brand to introduce cinemagraphs – posts that mix still images with video – to the platform.

To launch the new model Cascada, a stylish convertible, Holden launched their ‘Let Life In’ campaign, targeted at style conscious and progressive women 25 to 44 years – a marked change in direction for the brand.

Holden collaborated with existing brand ambassador Alex Davis, as well as creative director and blogger Amanda Shadforth of @oraclefoxblog, to produce a series of editorial style cinemagraphs to highlight the fashionable elements of the Holden Cascada.

With elegant styling and subtle movement, the cinemagraphs blended naturally into the feeds of Holden’s target audience, and were highly effective in engaging an audience typically ambivalent to the Holden brand.

The campaign exceeded all Nielsen online ad benchmarks, driving significant lifts in all key brand metrics. It has proven to be one of the most successful automotive brand campaigns run on Instagram globally.

Highlights included:

– 30pt lift in ad recall

– 9pt lift in brand awareness

– 8pt lift in favourability

Says Bianca Mundy, senior advertising and communications manager, GM Holden: “This campaign represented a major shift in Holden’s strategic direction, so it’s exciting to see such strong results. It proves that when captivating creative and the right influencers are used, Instagram has the ability to drive strong brand outcomes.”

Says Jarrad Provis, group business director, Carat: “By leveraging talent and content not normally associated with Holden, on a platform synonymous with style such as Instagram, we are evolving what it means to be a Holden driver.”