Audi New Zealand yesterday revealed a 4-tonne ice sculpture carved into the shape of Audi’s four-ring emblem at Cardrona Alpine Resort in the Southern Alps.

The activation, managed by FCB PR & Activation alongside Audi’s creative agency JOLT, forms part of the ‘Audi Melting Offer’ retail campaign. This leverages the company’s partnership with the 2018 Audi quattro Winter Games and the 10th anniversary of the ‘Audi ice experience™’, which was first introduced by Audi in 2008.

The category breaking promotion, which launched for the first time last year at Queenstown Airport, offers New Zealanders $6,000 credit when they purchase any new Audi quattro vehicle, but only while the sculpture lasts. Once the ice has melted, the offer is gone.

Head of Marketing, Audi NZ, Chanelle McDonald said, “The Audi Melting Offer was so successful last year, we wanted to offer customers another chance to take advantage of this unique deal. It’s great to be able to do something on the mountain during the Audi quattro Winter Games to reinforce our sponsorship, but also connect customers to the local activation with a compelling national retail offer.”

As the ice melts the creative assets will be updated to show the audience how much time the promotion has left, driving urgency.

JOLT business lead Angela Spain said, “This campaign is an outstanding example of effective collaboration – working closely with our client on the concept, leveraging the sponsorship with the Winter Games and deploying our media and activation teams through FCB to build every aspect of the promotion. The results of last year’s campaign speak for themselves and we are hoping to deliver an equally successful campaign this year.”

The 2017 execution resulted in a 268% increase on leads, which lead to a 20% increase on sales over and above the target. FCB Media and FCB PR & Activation won a Gold Award at the 2018 Beacons for the Best Use of Event/Activation along with Silver Beacons across Consumer Durables and for the Most Effective campaign.