2021 Bronze Automotive

Agency: Candyspace

Client: Mazda UK

Campaign Name: Optimising online conversion for Mazda UK

Campaign Overview

With lockdowns forcing a total closure of dealerships for much of 2020, Mazda's web platform became its central hub for customer engagement and lead conversion.

Strategy

There were three key challenges to address:

• Lockdowns forced a temporary shift from the traditional conversion targets such as test-drive bookings

• The duration of the lockdowns, customer behaviour and economic impact were unknown variables

• The need to keep Mazda front of mind for customers while they were unable to take any real-world actions

This represented a real shift for Mazda, moving to a world where customer engagement had to be maintained exclusively in an online environment. The strategy was to focus on the sweet-spot where Mazda's business needs met customer demands.

That meant implementing seamless and data-driven user journeys, optimising sign-up and increasing on-site engagement; improving content and optimising CTAs; and ensuring site performance was maximised to reduce drop-off.

Success would be measured not by the usual test-drive bookings, but by the number of potential customers using the 'find a dealer' tool, completing the finance calculator to work out affordability and filling out 'keep me informed' forms with their contact details.

Creativity

Content on Mazda.co.uk was constantly updated, reflecting restrictions but also changing the customer journey to push users into the virtual showroom.

This was bolstered with a focus on regularly refreshing the engaging content and brand-building elements, rather than the traditional conversion points of booking test-drives and services.

Getting customers' contact information was crucial, so messaging changed from 'Book now' to 'Keep me informed' or 'Pre-order' throughout the site, to ensure no lead was missed.

The team built modules to showcase Mazda's 360-degree image galleries. These interactive views of each car model were the closest a customer could get to a test-drive during a lockdown. Ten models were included with individual detail and fun facts to encourage long dwell times and brand building.

There was also a focus on Mazda's heritage: 100th anniversary pages were designed to build brand engagement and highlight the value of years of expertise

Results

Comparing January 2020 (pre-lockdown) to December 2020, the campaign saw:

• 35% increase in customers completing 'find a dealer' locator

• 55% boost in finance calculator completions

• 36% reduction in bounce rate

• 28.6% increase in unique page views

There was also a 46% increase in completion of 'book a test-drive’ forms in June to August 2020, compared to the same period in 2019.

For the interactive 360-degree modules, 62% of visitors during lockdown were returning, showing the page held long-term interest for Mazda fans. Users spent 3x as long on these pages compared to the site average.

Overall, the prevalence of returning users to the homepage (up by 13.8%) and the increased session duration of 5.4% showed users were engaged with the content and found the information they were looking for, while unable to visit showrooms across the country.

The Team

Candyspace - Joe Stubbs, Head of Web Development - Michelle Meehan, Delivery Manager - Silvia Cassone, Digital Designer - Cosmo Swarbreck, Junior Web Developer