Famous for their pursuit of both luxury and performance, Bentley wanted to make the intensely personal experience of tailoring one of their vehicles even more immersive and impactful.
THE CHALLENGE
When a brand makes automobiles for the world's most extraordinary buyers, everything the brand does must meet that level excellence. So, from the outset the challenge was to deliver a truly, next generation car configurator that stood apart, positioning Bentley as an innovative leader and unparalleled luxury brand.
THE IDEA
On a mission to reinvent what is normally a sterile, functional experience into an emotive brand experience, we asked "what happens when we let your vision of an extraordinary life inspire your extraordinary Bentley?"
THE SOLUTION
Guided by an interactive film, the Bentley Inspirator app uses the latest emotional recognition technology to record your reactions to the various stimuli. Based on 12 million emotion data points provided by 3.4 million different faces, the Inspirator intelligently curates a Bentley based on your vision of an extraordinary life.
INNOVATION AS A FORM OF LUXURY
At a higher brand level, the Inspirator app represents just the emergent tip of possibility with how digital can be utilised to engage the High Net Worth audience. Since digital media and social media are primarily democratic forces that seek to give everyone the same access to the same information and experiences, it can be a real challenge for luxury brands to engage in digital media in a differentiated way.
Since working with the Bentley brand, I've been exploring how innovation might be a most powerful expression of luxury within the digital space - in that in order for something to be truly innovative, it can only be experienced by the few. And in that lies a real alignment with luxury brands and experiences.
THE RESULT
The Inspirator has received over 10,000 downloads in its first three months, but not only that, users in key markets spend on average up to ten minutes on the app. The app has also been featured on the front page of Ad Age, as well as being covered by Wired, Contagious, AdWeek, PSFK and the automotive press.
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