Aston Martin
DB11 Digital Launch

“Aston Martin has probably just blown the competition clean out of the water with a dizzying, detailed and complex virtual showroom. Welcome to a whole new depth of feel-good procrastination.”

Top Gear UK

Pageviews in Week 1 550K+

...in Month 1 1M+

...Year 1 7.6M+

Homepage CTR 75%

The Challenge

What do you say when one of the world’s most iconic brands asks you to help them by creating, designing and producing the launch microsite for their first new Aston Martin model in over a decade — and do it in six weeks, in time for the 2016 Geneva International Motor Show?

Well, you say Yes, of course.

So, a small team at Mirum, as part of a multi-agency WPP team, became the team tasked with raising the bar for how Aston Martin (AML) launches their new flagship model – the DB11 – on the Aston Martin global website.

The Role

– Concept, Creative & UX Lead, AD

As the UX-centric Creative Lead of a small, focussed Mirum project team, my role was to devise how AML could evolve their experiential and visual language; how visitors consider, interact and engage with the site, the product and the brand.

I pro-actively lead the aspiration, working with the client and partner agencies, leading communications on all creative and UX issues for the launch site.

Additionally, I worked with designers, copywriters, creatives and video specialists from other teams throughout WPP, to co-ordinate activity within the broader launch campaign.

The Solution

With limited time, this small team were able to devise, create and produce the online presence for the new flagship model, with AML CEO describing the launch as their "most successful and integrated launch ever", with the contributing teams also receiving a WPP award for best cross-agency integration.

Receiving record visits, the concepts continue to prove successful, outperforming previous launch sites on engagement and key conversions.

Experience and design principles created during this project established a new online experience language for AML – one which continues to be rolled out throughout the parent global website.

Audit & Landscape Analysis

Working alongside members of the Mirum Strategy and Search teams, I began by diving into the landscape of the motorcar sector with an emphasis on direct competitors, as well as leading non-competing brands, analysing how each positioned themselves within the space.

I audited the existing site, reviewing how Aston Martin positioned and presented themselves and their models, the content strategy, the user experiences, the execution, the design language and the conventions employed on the site — identifying ways to expand on areas that were working well, address areas that would benefit from more attention and explore new opportunities.

Creative Concept
& Experience Principles

Working with limited early visibility of the model itself, concepts would need to co-ordinate with still and video content coming in from partner agencies. As UX/Creative Lead, I also worked with partner agencies to position copy language.

To tell new stories without creating the need for substantial new content, we used insights from the discovery phase and centred on the idea to amplify key aspects of the Aston Martin DB experience; the beauty of the exterior, the sumptuous and modern interior, and the distinctive sound.

It was also an opportunity to evolve the experience language — through greater emphasis on the visuals and by giving movement greater presence.

IA, Sitemap & Wireframes

The ‘Shape, Space, Sound’ concept would be the core of the experience, each with a page where visitors could linger on that aspect of the DB11 experience.

Other sections, such as Engineering and Heritage were key points of interest for the audience, each with their own story to tell.

Key funnel conversion destinations were the Configurator (produced by Burrows) and the Dealership information pages.

Moving the Eye

Working with the Designer and the Developer, I led exploration of opportunities to evolve and enrich the visual and interactive language for Aston Martin — contemporary, yet recognisably Aston Martin.

New video content had been created for the DB11. Some was feature content, while ideas were created to weave others into the site in other ways, helping tell the story of the car's unique character.

This way, we were able to further develop a subtle language of motion and movement for the DB11 website.