Wheel Power

German automaker Audi AG was faced with the challenge of putting together a high-energy party to drum up customers’ interest in its Audi Q5 SUV model, during its launch in Hong Kong last year.

The cornerstone of the launch at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) was an adrenaline-pumping dance performance, whose choreography was meant to show the diversity of Audi’s latest four-wheeler drive. The event was designed to celebrate the sport utility vehicle’s “perfectly synchronised engineering”, and the car company’s positioning of it as a versatile solution that would ensure a smooth ride in most terrains.

Experiential marketing firm Luminous Asia was commissioned to mount the theatrical production of the event.

The task was to stage a performance that would lead to a climatic finale that put the spotlight on the Q5’s key qualities: a four-wheel drive that was as much a perfect fit for city driving – agile, slick and stylish, as it was for cruising the country road – comfortable, manoeuvrable and powerful.

As a venue, the HKCEC fitted the bill perfectly. Its large halls and high ceilings were a blank canvas for a branded set design that included the installation of three large LED screens, a revolving catwalk stage, a choreographed dance sequence and a dramatic “reveal moment” for the newly launched product.

The production had the LED screens presenting impressive, stylised imagery of Hong Kong’s skyline and streetscapes.

Dancers in shimmering silver business attire appeared on stage to the re-mixed beats of Labels of Love, reinforcing the Q5’s sleek style. With a quick change of pace and music, they stripped down to funky leisure gear to emphasise and illustrate the vehicle’s adaptability, dynamism and energy. With this came a group of stunt dancers. They abseiled down from the ceiling and jumped off platforms as the final Q5 arrived on the revolving stage.

The car made its entrance flanked by Audi ambassador Chang Chen, the Taiwanese actor from the Asian blockbuster Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

With great visual appeal on screen, Luminous reinstated Audi’s core values: sophisticated, progressive and sporty.

The theatrical element struck an emotional connection with the 1,300 guests, comprising customers and local celebrities who came to join the party.

The special guest appearances gave the event a high-profile appeal and guaranteed media attention. The sensational reveal succeeded in creating a “talk-of-the-town” event, generating positive media coverage, which brought the new product a top-of-mind recall.

“It shows that good creativity will always prevail and should not be compromised,” says Luminous Asia managing director Antony Spanbrook.

The Audi Q5 production was considered so extra special that it brought the firm global recognition at the Special Events Awards that recently took place in New Orleans in the US, winning in the coveted Best Theatrical Entertainment Production category for 2009.