As someone, a lot more famous than me once said, “to keep your balance, you must keep moving”. As we embrace rapid technological advances and leverage AI in the creative process to drive more agile, data-based responses to emerging digital marketing challenges that show no signs of slowing down, Einstein’s words are more relevant than ever. Brands, like people, must keep moving to connect with customers on a deeper level, inspire and be innovative.
For us, innovation is the key to “a better way forward”. It is the company’s sole mission. As one of the bigger tyre manufacturers in the world, we believe that mobility is essential for human development, and are innovating passionately to make it safer, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly with the production of tyres for electric vehicles (EVs), as well as using sustainable recycled materials in all its products.
Innovation isn’t a new concept for Michelin tyres, it’s been part of its DNA since the beginning. The brand has been an advocate for a better life in motion long before it became a campaign slogan. As a company, Michelin understands the challenges its customers face in a fast-moving society and with that in mind, the brand launched a new influencer campaign in the MENA region, ‘A Better Life in Motion’ in collaboration with PR and marketing agency, House of Comms. The campaign goal was to demonstrate how Michelin tyres help its customers lead a better life while on the move. Whether that’s on the school run, work commute or driving to the beach for a relaxing yoga session, we are constantly in motion.
The brief was simple: How does motion contribute to your daily life? As motion is something we often take for granted, the world would not function without it – and this is the essence of the campaign. We wanted to reinforce this message by demonstrating how Michelin products make our daily routines easier as we navigate through life’s journeys.
According to this year’s Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report, the social influencer marketing industry is set to grow to approximately $21.1bn by the end of 2023, which is a 29 per cent increase from last year. And for the first time, TikTok has jumped ahead of Instagram as the most popular influencer marketing channel, with 56 per cent of brands preferring to use TikTok to reach their consumer base.
‘‘For Michelin, it was essential to have a diverse range of influencers who aligned with our company value.”
For Michelin, it was essential to have a diverse range of influencers who aligned with our company values and could effectively deliver the brand’s message. We worked closely with House of Comms who provided us with strategic influencer data, highlighting a mix of both regional macro and micro-influencers who shared common interests with our customers.
Based on the research House of Comms carried out, we identified that the target persona for the campaign was younger, tech-savvy consumers who valued experiences and were interested in sustainability. We created a strategy for each influencer to create short videos on TikTok and Instagram showing how motion contributes positively to their lifestyle.
One of the most effective aspects of the campaign was the use of user-generated content. Rather than issue strict content scripts, we give the influencers the freedom to create their own videos so they could showcase in the most authentic way how motion contributes to their lifestyle and how Michelin tyres play a role in that. The result has been a diverse range of videos that are engaging and relatable to our consumers.
We worked with a mix of macro and micro-influencers including; Leen AbouShaar, a digital influencer and TV personality with over 3 million followers across her social platforms; local car enthusiast, YouTube and TikTok creator Ali Al Hamoudi; Amir De Leon, art director and videographer known for his viral TikTok videos; Mthayel Al Ali, Emirati entrepreneur and influencer; Fahed Abu Salah, an automotive journalist and film director; and Amna Al Haddad, the first Emirati weightlifter who has a wax figure at Madame Tussauds Dubai. The decision to work with them was deliberate to ensure we targeted influencers with a larger audience with wider reaches and micro-influencers with smaller followings but higher engagement rates due to their niche, specialised audiences.
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To generate further engagement, Michelin designed a competition for the whole month of March to give everyone a chance to participate in the campaign by creating their own video and perspective of “A Better Life in Motion” for a chance to win prizes, including a lifetime supply of Michelin tyres. A first in the region, this has never been executed by an international tyre brand. By letting our potential customers become influencers themselves with the ‘A Better Life in Motion’ campaign, Michelin has expanded its reach and engagement beyond the region. And when the campaign is over, we will have no doubt exceeded all our metrics.
By Ketsarin Ratchaworapong, Customer Experience Manager – MENA at Michelin Aim FZCO
