Social Media Campaign Review: Nano Drive With MTV

MTV and  Tata Nano, are back with the second season of 'Nano Drive with MTV'.  As India's first social streaming show featuring four teams on a 21-day road trip across the country the campaign had generated a lot of interest last year and this season promises to be much more exciting and full of fun. The show, which is in the format of a tweaked travelogue, will see each member of the winning team being awarded a Tata Nano. The drive commenced on 4^th June this year.

Objectives:

MTV as well as Tata Nano, both the brands capitalize on each others others brand value.

Execution:

The campaign which is being heavily promoted on Facebook and Twitter was hosted on the mtvindia.  Travel enthusiast and aspirants had to register on – drive.mtvindia.com. Tata Motors and MTV together selected 24 contestants who were short-listed through audience voting and 12 were finally chosen to go on this exciting road trip.

These 4 teams commenced their ultimate social road trip in the first week of June as VJ Nikhil Chinapa flaged-off the journey from Zero Mile, Nagpur.  The flag off point couldn't be more apt as Nagpur is the geographical center of India.

As the journey progresses, interesting twists are on the anvil as 8 new participants join each team for a small stretch of the journey. These participants are also be selected through various social media contests, giving all the travel enthusiasts another chance to experience the drive.

The teams will drive through their respective zones and  receive a fixed daily allowance to plan everything.  En route teams need to overcome obstacles, perform tasks and earn social media currency. All the action unfold live on various social media platforms and on the Drive with MTV website.

Positives:

In keeping with Nano’s strategy of being the car for everyone who always wanted one but had been deterred by high prices the show puts the spotlight on the Nano.  MTV as a brand has always been quirky, daringly different and adventurous. The coming together of these brands is spurred the urge to capitalise on each other’s brand values while creating customer delight and entertaining people through a tweaked travelogue.

Social media has played a vital role in the promotion of this campaign and will continue to do so as this unique road trip unfolds.  Viewers will get a chance to vote for their favourite teams online making the process democratic and social. Every activity on the road and on the web will add to the teams’ points and in the end , the team with maximum points will win a Nano for each of its members.

The campaign has used videos for promotion, pre event promotion with Nikhil Chinappa telling you how you can be a part of the Nano Drive With MTV in a video was also an endeavour that worked towards drawing participation. To know more I visited the drive.mtvindia.com site and watched video with Kalaakar Singh, a participant from season one dish out do’s and don’ts to aspirants. If you've watched it you’ll agree that it is fun and in line with MTV’s wacky image.

Crowd sourcing is an interesting addition to the second season; MTV India launched a first-of-its-kind crowd sourcing initiative for the social road trip. The Twitteratti were invited to tweet their favourite travel destination using the hashtag #DriveWithMTV. These suggestions were further short-listed to determine the routes for this season of Drive with MTV. The destinations selected won goodies and were shared on the Facebook page of Drive with MTV at the same time. The final 20 locations had been decided after a day-long tweeting drive.

This time, Drive with MTV has also associated with BlogAdda, a bloggers community to offer 3 wildcard entries, thereby widening its reach to blogosphere. Bloggers have to share a memorable journey and say why they love travel. Once short-listed, they have to send video entries as well and fight it out for the final team of 12.

The Facebook page and Twitter handles have been working hard to keep people updated on the drive. Their Facebook Page is creatively using cover photos. They have been changing them everyday.

Delicious Jalebi by Team #NanoNorth @bani_j @TheHotSpark @maithili29 @craniumdoodah pic.twitter.com/45Do83NLzV

— Drive with MTV (@drivewithmtv) June 22, 2013

 

Worshipping a Bullet ! by Team #NanoWest in #Rajasthan @HoeZaay @ClickKachic @rnagpal89 @ankulbarar pic.twitter.com/ydOZkSkEZi

— Drive with MTV (@drivewithmtv) June 22, 2013

MTV has also leveraged Pinterest to create interesting boards for best drive Destinations in all the directions.

Scope of Improvement:

The campaign somehow seems to take off from MTV roadies.  How does one determine whether participants are in it for their love of travel, for the Nano or to be in the limelight for those 21 days?

The endeavor seems to be one in which Nano is being projected as a sturdy car that can take participants through a 21 day adventure. Surely something more creative would have helped the Nano which has experienced many highs and lows since its launch garner more attention which translates in to better sales figures.

With the Drive, engagement levels will rise and social media buzz will reach crescendo but what would have worked better is getting Nano owners to talk about their experiences, make videos and make a pitch in a true Drive with Nano video contest?

Conclusion:

Overall the Nano Drive with MTV campaign promises to be more fun this year. The social media buzz and hype around the contest has definitely kept people engaged. As Nano works towards building its image as a sturdy small car and MTV takes its adventurous road trip approach further, the campaign makes heads turn.