Experiential Marketing Is the Future for Motor Shows Says Mazda

DARTFORD, UNITED KINGDOM – July 15, 2010: The Goodwood Festival of Speed’s inaugural Moving Motor Show kicked off a series of experiential events that allow people to get a taste for the Mazda brand first hand. This weekend Mazda will be at the Chormondley Pageant of Power in Cheshire (17-18 July) and throughout the summer Mazda will be taking entries for its Zoom Zoom weekends and the Mazda Thrills competition.

These activities bring Mazda vehicles to the car-buying public in an engaging and fun way. With no British Motor Show these experiential events are the route the forward-thinking Japanese brand is taking rather than the traditional motor show. In fact, reaction to the event is already demonstrating that this is a popular format.

This event style follows an experiential element first demonstrated by Mazda during the Zoom Zoom Challenge campaign featured at the 2006 and 2008 British International Motor Shows at Excel, Operation RENESIS in 2007 – a dynamic driving experience themed on undercover agents to promote RX-8 - and a nationwide Zoom Zoom Challenge shopping centre tour in 2007.

Goodwood Festival of Speed visitors were given the opportunity to test drive Mazda’s MX 5 sports car up the famous Goodwood Hill Climb during the inaugural Goodwood Moving Motor Show day on 1st July. The more adventurous were givenrides up the hill with a professional racing driver in a race-prepared Mazda MX-5 endurance race car, which will be contesting in a number of Britcar races this year, including the 24 hour race at Silverstone.

Jeremy Thomson, Mazda UK’s managing director, enthused about the response from the public: “Mazda was overwhelmed with test drive bookings during the Moving Motor Show where we had so many test drive requests that we had to disappoint some people, but many more experienced the thrill of driving on the exciting Goodwood hill climb route. We took the decision not to pre-book slots ahead of the event in order to allow as many visitors as possible to experience the thrill of driving a Mazda MX-5 for the first time.

“Meanwhile the Mazda stand was a life-sized Scalextric track which attracted a huge amount of attention and the Mazda team was inundated with enquiries. In fact, sales leads are up by an impressive 140 percent on last year’s show.

The Goodwood Moving Motor Show is very much in-line with our marketing strategy for experiential events where our aim is to allow people to experience the excellent driving dynamics of a Mazda car for themselves.

The current MX-5 viral campaign “MX-5 once driven, thrills are harder to find” could not be more apt for the unique opportunity Goodwood afforded to its Festival visitors this year. I very much hope the event goes ahead for 2011.”

Commenting on the success of the inaugural Moving Motor Show was Goodwood’s motor sport press and PR manager, Gary Axon: “In the absence of the traditional British Motor Show at Excel this year, the Moving Motor Show allowed new car buyers to test drive cars around the Goodwood estate. We're the biggest car show in the world and manufacturers were able to get new cars in front of an enthusiastic and knowledgeable public."

Mazda’s engaging marketing events this summer include the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed, Pageant of Power (17-18 July in Cheshire) and a Zoom Zoom Weekend shopping centre tour at nine venues around the UK where members of the public can enter a 'Thrills’ competition to win a Zoom Zoom Weekend experience.

The competition, running until 24 September, offers the chance to win an exhilarating Zoom Zoom Weekend worth £650, themed around style, fun, performance or adventure including Thrill Tasting driving days to unique gourmet restaurants around the country, Mazda3 MPS Adrenaline Rush track days or Mazda2 car games at shopping centres featuring penalty shoot outs in the Mazda2.

For more information or to enter the competition visit www.mazda.co.uk/thrillseekers or to view the exciting Thrills campaign films featuring ‘condor gliding’, ‘whale surfing’ and ‘lilo rafting’ visit www.youtube.com and search ‘Mazda MX5 Thrill’.