Wholesome Adventure: Rivian Solidifies a Connective Brand Identity

In their new ad titled “Electric Adventure,” Rivian unveils the latest generation of their flagship R1S and R1T models. 

The :30 spot, created with agency Digitas, eschews the typical EV marketing playbook of sleek cityscapes and futuristic aesthetics, instead embracing the rugged yet wholesome spirit that has defined Rivian’s brand identity since its inception, showcasing their vehicles conquering challenging terrains while highlighting key performance upgrades.

Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the campaign.

The Details:

• The new “Electric Adventure” :30 achieved above-norm results across every performance metric compared to the average lux auto ad among higher-income viewers ($75K+) over the past year:
  
  
  • The strongest aspects of the creative were the Change and Information conveyed, suggesting many indeed ‘met’ Rivian while viewing the spot. The Upscale product itself was rated Single Best Thing about the new ad at above average rates for the category.
    
    
  • With high Relevance and resonating quite well across age/gender, “Electric Adventure” sparked Curiosity and consideration that outpaced norms (50% Top 2 Box purchase/visit intent).
    
    
  • Moreover, eight in ten recalled the Rivian brand on an unaided basis upon first viewing.

• Second-by-second trace reflects solid engagement across age that was held successfully throughout most of the :30 creative, with higher-income viewers very interested and intrigued by the features shown in the spot:
  
  
  • The upbeat, family-centric positioning was also a key factor in the ad’s Likeability while the music aided engagement.

Higher-income viewers on “Electric Adventure” :30

“I like the strong family ties that they show in the ad. The use of the young children and their enthusiasm for getting into the great outdoors and hopefully using less energy and electric vehicles is a positive message. I’d like to know a little bit more about the car, but I guess that’s what you’re looking for to go to your website. But very well done the music, the narrative, all great.”
Female 50+

“I was pleasantly surprised about the ad and the brand. I have never seen this brand before, but now I definitely want to know more about it.”
Male 36-49

“Terrific ad, I loved it! I’ve heard a lot about Rivian lately when it comes to the EV market, but didn’t have a clear idea about what the interior of the vehicles is actually like, or how they drive. I also thought that the choice of background music was perfect. It was really upbeat and catchy, and made me want to keep watching.”
Female 21-35

“Ad made me think of two things, how different this vehicle is and how much fun it is to drive”
Male 50+

“It was cool, fun, and happy! It showed interesting features of the Rivian SUV that I didn’t know it had that made me more interested in the car and the brand overall. I like that the ad showed a family with a dog because I have a family with a dog so I can picture myself using that product.”
Female 36-49

“I liked how they showed off a ton of features of the car in a short amount of time while making it exciting.”
Male 21-35

• The :30 appealed successfully to auto intenders both near- and longer-term (much more successfully than the brand’s “Knight Rider”), with near-term buyer engagement quite high:

• While performing within range of some of the best-received lux auto ads over the past 90 days (all featuring electric vehicles), key competitive ads drove even higher intent:
  
  
  • Jeep’s :15 invitation to reserve a Wagoneer S and Volvo’s concentration on safety features in its EX90 saw over six in ten higher-income viewers report positive interest.
    
    
  • More consistent/continued presence with ads such as “Electric Adventure” should boost consideration for the business over time, given that many consumers are still quite new to the Rivian franchise.

• Among one-year lux auto intenders, however, Scout consideration (74%) met/exceeded the level achieved by Jeep and Volvo while Rivian trailed:
  
  
  • High consideration rates across brands indicate strong opportunity to influence brand choice as intenders are open to many alternatives.

• Good news for the EV industry is that effective ads are resonating well across American political party, suggesting broad reach media can be utilized (key to Rivian’s awareness building):

Ineffective creative, even if delivered to the right audience, results in missed opportunity and performance shortfalls. Great creative delivered poorly also results in failed campaigns.

Schedule a demo to find out how your brand can partner with iSpot to quickly solve both challenges simultaneously, delivering high-performing creative while boosting the effectiveness of planning and in-market execution to achieve—and outperform—campaign objectives.

Creative Agency: Digitas