Are automotive launch events still relevant in 2024?

From Alfa Romeo’s first mainstream electrical automobile to BMW’s all-new IX3 SUV, alongside extra reasonably priced automobiles just like the Citroen e-C3, 2024’s automotive calendar is already full of eagerly anticipated launch dates and automobile unveilings. With the scarcity of semiconductors, manufacturing occasions have been a lot slower, leading to a backlog of latest fashions ready to be introduced. So, the automotive trade is about for an thrilling however fiercely aggressive yr forward. Standing out because the mannequin of the yr shall be extraordinarily powerful, and types might want to pull out all of the stops.

Auto reveals and automobile launch occasions have historically been the yr’s spotlight for automobile fanatics. Manufacturers invite media, followers, dealerships and different crucial stakeholders to extremely produced and infrequently glamorous occasions to make sure their newest machines begin life with loads of consideration. However as we speak, with social media, new applied sciences, and an infinite digital ecosystem at their fingertips, there are a plethora of touchpoints accessible for manufacturers to attach with the audiences they want.

That begs the query: are launch occasions nonetheless related as we speak? And the way can they be tailored for the fashionable age?

1886 to 2024: The evolution of automobile launch occasions

Launch occasions have been a part of the automotive trade for the reason that starting, when Karl Benz revealed the world’s first automobile—the three-wheeled Benz Patent-Motorwagen—to the general public on 3 July 1886. Unveiled on the Ringstrasse in Mannheim, Benz publicly drove the automobile for the primary time, reaching a prime velocity of 10mph. A little bit underwhelming by as we speak’s requirements, however really revolutionary on the time. Benz set the stage for the launch occasions to come back over the subsequent one and a half centuries, a few of which helped to propel automobile fashions into phenomenal and long-lasting successes.

Though COVID-19 restrictions have since been lifted, its impression on how automobile producers carry new fashions to market has been long-lasting

In April 1964, then-Chief Government Henry Ford II debuted the Ford Mustang on the largest exhibit of the New York World’s Honest. Nearly 22,000 Mustangs have been snapped up instantly by consumers, and Ford went on to promote greater than 400,000 inside its first yr of manufacturing. The Mustang was solidified as some of the iconic automobiles of the 20 th century.

Fifty-two years later, Tesla loved an analogous expertise when unveiling its Mannequin 3. With a launch occasion to rival the likes of Apple and Samsung, 325,000 pre-orders have been made inside its first week, reportedly probably the most profitable product launch ever. The Mannequin 3 went on to grow to be the all-time bestselling plug-in electrical automobile worldwide.

As new applied sciences emerged, the 2010s noticed manufacturers embed spectacular digital parts into their automobile launch reveals. In 2017, the revealing occasion for the Volkswagen Polo made cool use of augmented actuality (AR) on-stage, utilizing an invisible display screen to create 3D imagery across the automobile on show.

Then, the pandemic. All bodily occasions have been shut down, and so the likes of Audi, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz needed to reveal new automobile fashions to the media and the general public by on-line streams and social media. Though COVID-19 restrictions have since been lifted, its impression on how automobile producers carry new fashions to market has been long-lasting. Behaviours have shifted; e-commerce has skyrocketed with no indicators of reverting, and journalists have grow to be used to receiving the knowledge they want at their desks. Now, manufacturers can carry automobiles to audiences by digital avenues alone, streaming shows straight into folks’s properties.

Developments in AR and digital actuality (VR) applied sciences additionally create much more alternatives for audiences to expertise automobiles remotely. Final yr, for instance, Ford experimented with a digital launch for its new Explorer. The model created a digital world by which audiences might ‘check drive’ the automobile from their very own units, with European advertising and marketing director Peter Zillig calling the innovation a “one-of-a-kind alternative for us to create significant connections with potential prospects”.

The function of launch occasions as we speak

The advantages of launching a automobile by way of digital channels are obvious; manufacturers can obtain wider attain at decrease price. Nevertheless, digital media lacks the spectacle and bodily expertise of an in-person occasion. Driving a automobile is a extremely bodily and immersive expertise by nature. From the texture of the steering wheel in your arms and the view of the street forward to the odor of leather-based seats and the sound of the engine, nearly your entire senses are engaged. That have can not but be precisely replicated by a digital medium.

At launch occasions, audiences can contact the automobile, get inside it, and discover its options from all angles. As some of the costly purchases most individuals will make in a number of years, customers wish to know they’re getting the perfect product for his or her cash.

Manufacturers can even drive an emotional reference to that automobile way more simply in particular person than they will digitally, and with such fierce competitors this yr, sturdy model connections shall be extra crucial than ever. Occasions are all about connecting face-to-face and constructing significant relationships. They’re a strong method to unite communities and consumers, present constructive experiences, and create life-long model advocates.

From Henry Ford II to Tesla’s Elon Musk, there are additionally alternatives for firm leaders to take to the stage and humanise the model, or for workers to talk to attendees instantly and handle any considerations. That is particularly essential when launching electrical automobiles, which many customers nonetheless view with trepidation.

Tesla’s Cybertruck occasions in 2019 and 2023 present the ability occasions nonetheless maintain for automotive manufacturers. Each occasions acquired in depth press protection, and in accordance with Chief Government Musk, Tesla acquired over 250,000 reservations for the apocalypse-ready automobile inside per week of unveiling it. Following the 2023 supply occasion in November final yr, that determine reportedly reached two million. For Tesla, model advocacy is every part; these occasions are one among its most important instruments.

Finally, few different merchandise have such a pure affinity with launch occasions as automobiles. Whilst customers more and more shift to on-line procuring, automobiles stay one of many few merchandise they wish to strive in particular person earlier than shopping for. A current survey by JudgeService discovered that solely round one in ten UK buyers plan to purchase a automobile completely by a digital course of, with the overwhelming majority eager to go to a bodily dealership showroom sooner or later in the course of the buy course of.

The way forward for automobile launch occasions

So, are automotive launch occasions nonetheless related as we speak? Completely. The truth is, they’ve by no means been extra essential to face out among the many sea of latest automobiles as a consequence of hit the roads this yr. Nevertheless, that doesn’t imply they don’t must evolve. Future occasions must mix the ability of digital and in-person experiences to drive that essential emotional connection whereas securing mass attain.

Which may imply live-streaming an in-person occasion. The Cybertruck supply occasion was streamed on X (previously Twitter); with its punky underground venue and excited crowd, the occasion completely embodied the automobile’s model whereas reaching hundreds of thousands of individuals of their properties. Alternatively, it might imply creating AR and VR experiences to enhance an occasion and immerse those that couldn’t attend.

Undoubtedly, the pandemic revealed many classes concerning the worth of digital media for automotive manufacturers. Nevertheless, the trade should not overlook the ways it used to promote automobiles efficiently over the various years that got here earlier than.

By Jennifer Davidson, Founding father of Glossy Occasions