Mahindra XUV500 Augmented Reality campaign

After the unprecedented success of the launch campaign for the XUV500, the next big milestone of the brand was the New Delhi Auto Expo in January 2012. Mahindra & Mahindra Auto sold out their entire inventory of the XUV500 in the first three weeks of the launch. The New Delhi Auto Expo was slotted just before the launch of the second batch of the SUVs, therefore making it the ideal industry event to garner eyeballs from consumers and the media alike.

The campaign strategy was a continuation of the launch campaign and increase the momentum of social conversation. There was already a lot of excitement around the Auto Expo and the idea was to bring to life a clutter breaking concept for the XUV500. The XUV500 is an engineering marvel, is inspired by the life form of a Cheetah. The team decided to bring the Cheetah to life and make the wild animal interact with the SUV as well as the audience at the Auto Expo. The focus at the Auto Expo this year was on green technologies and environment. Building on this, Mahindra wanted to make the activity as green as possible along. This was made easier via the means of this AR campaign which not only made this an unforgettable experience for the people present at the venue but also gave the online consumers an opportunity to connect through the website.

This was the first time an AR campaign was created that integrated the outdoor media with the AR software and animation. Those attending Auto Expo 'virtually' played and interacted with a Cheetah by their side, including petting the wild animal!

By standing on a marker near the SUV, a big screen over the XUV500. shows a cheetah walking in and standing next to the consumer. The animation jumps on the roof f the car, then the bonnet. The animal can them be petted and also purrs. Besides the AR campaign, the team has created a website and WAP site for Mahindra which allows users to feel like they are at the Auto Expo. The homepage shows layout of the Mahindra stall as it is on ground. The website also has links to Social Media destinations of various brands, shares functionality & an inquiry form. Besides this, Ipad applications, digital brochures, cut out applications are also created.

The Mahindra XUV500 AR campaign was the talk of not only the town but the entire auto and digital industry. On Day 1 and 2 of the exhibition (special days for the journalists) the audience was floored and took to both traditional and social media to talk about the campaign. On the second day of the Auto Expo, Anand Mahindra- Chairman of the Mahindra Group visited the stall. We sent out a picture and video of Mr. Mahindra interacting with the Cheetah, which he tweeted via his personal account.