2022 Silver Automotive

Agency: VCCP

Client: cinch

Campaign Name: cinch it

Campaign Overview

Buying a used car is like a game of automotive snakes and ladders: a confusing process full of pitfalls that send customers sliding backwards in their search. People seek reassurance, but didn't know where to find it. Cinch’s strategy was to give car buyers the power of certainty.

Strategy

Cinch was a young brand in a newly established market, looking for the next phase of growth. While it had all the makings of a strong and distinctive brand, it needed help to connect with customers, reinforce positioning and build buyers' trust.

Armed with an insight that many motorists lack confidence when seeking a new car - 39% of car buyers find dealerships intimidating, 85% even consider the process painful - cinch knew it had a tricky comms challenge ahead to overturn this anxiety.

The brand found the answer in its name: cinch means ‘to make certain’. The campaign therefore set out to get 'cinch it' to become synonymous with people having absolutely nailed it when buying a car.

Creativity

The campaign featured three brand films that brought to life examples of people cinching it, both in their day-to-day life and in buying a car from the brand; from a husband cooking a Michelin Star meal for his wife, to a babysitter building a Lego castle.

The team sought out the best opportunities to land what it really means to cinch it, including sponsorship of new ITV talent show Starstruck where the 'cinched it' moment would surely arise.

Partnerships and sponsorships reinforced the brand positioning, helping cinch to become synonymous with over-achieving and outperforming, to convey the confidence and certainty someone feels when buying a car from the brand.

Results

The campaign contributed to a 17% uplift in prompted brand awareness, to the highest levels in the market. Brand tracking showed cinch's closest competitors had suffered dips in awareness.

Tracking revealed almost two-thirds of the market saw cinch as a brand 'on the way up', significantly higher than rivals. Meanwhile, the work forged strong associations between cinch and being 'modern', 'innovative' and 'convenient', as well as trustworthy - key in a harsh economic climate.

The campaign has achieved an unprecedented 73% recall. TV creative response rate also increased by 8.6% since the brand relaunched; ad attribution rose to an average 73% (+7%).

The Team

VCCP - Victoria Reiz, Head of Client Services - Sam Whiston, Business Director - Allegra Dowding, Account Director - Sofiya Anwar, Account Executive - Sophie Binns, Planning Director - Gabriel Bathar, Junior Planner - Mark Orbine, Executive Creative Director - Amy Rasmussen, Post Producer - Izzie Haak, Producer - Callum Furminger, Senior Creative Producer - Jade Sturman, Associate Creative Director - Tori Fannon, Associate Creative Director - Cliff Hall, CEO - Ollie Latham, Global Planning Director - Maria Andrea, Account Director

Girl&Bear - Alexia Collins, Head of Broadcast Affairs

Bernadette - Matt Dunn, Senior Project Manager - Nate Hulley, Technical Lead - Nigel O'Toole Senior Developer - Tim Chesnin, Senior Digital & Motion Designer - Jason Fingland, Senior Designer - Alex Costiuc Senior Developer - Zdenek Suda, Interactive Developer

SomeOne - Gary Holt, Executive Creative Director - Ben Field, Account Handler - Karl Randall, Creative Director - Fiona Casey

cinch - Robert Bridge, Chief Customer Officer - Jo Kerr, Brand Director - Nicola Neil, Head of Brand - Francesca Dye, Brand Manager - Zoe Tidd, Brand Executive - Neill Torbit, Head of Creative

Contributors

Mediacom Manchester, Girl&Bear, Bernadette, and SomeOne