DC Shoes Gymkhana Project

CASE STUDY

DC Shoes Gymkhana Project
Joshua Martelli, Director of Film / TV Production - Mad Media

group Y: How did the idea of Ken Block project come about?

Joshua: Ken brought the project to us mid-2008 as a way to promote the sport of Gymkhana, pay tribute to his sponsors, and demonstrate the type of precise control he has in his Crawford Performance built 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Gymkhana car. Mad Media has been producing the Subaru Rally Team USA Viral Video Series for four years now. We’ve shot two national spots for Subaru of America that have featured Ken and Travis Pastrana, and we worked closely with Director Pierre Wikberg on the infamous New Zealand rally section of the DC Shoes snowboard film Mtn.Lab 1.5. We’ve also been shooting the SCORE, Best In The Desert, and CORR race series for years now, so we’re well-versed in the sort of over-the-top automotive shenanigans that Ken wanted us to capture. We were thrilled to be involved in the project because Ken doesn’t cut corners. He wanted to push the envelope personally as a driver, and reset the bar for viral video. Twenty million views later…

Explain the promotion and the concepts behind the viral campaign and site:

Ken and DC Shoes have been purveyors of culturally relevant projects since they were founded in 1993. The brand has transcended skateboarding to include motorsports, and they currently sell a line of Subaru Rally Team gear that is fantastic. So it wasn’t a stretch at all to come up with something based around his Gymkhana car. When we began production there was no way to know exactly what we would come away with, but there was a ton of planning involved so that we could capitalize on the impact if it took off. What started out as a small project has grown into a dedicated t-shirt line and DC website, (www.dcshoes.com/gymkhana) which includes a photo gallery, wallpapers, and a new Bonus Edit we produced. The Bonus Edit features behind-the-scenes footage, out takes, slow motion money shots, and crash footage. Ken saw the phenomenal response of the clip on his website (www.kenblockracing.com) and YouTube, and activated a dedicated campaign to support the project.

Tell us the process you went through, from the initial idea all the way to final launch of campaign.

The production process for the Gymkhana project wasn’t too different from most of our shoots. We spent a few months in pre-production, scouted, nailed down a list of shots we knew we wanted to capture, and shot over several days at the El Toro Marine Base. We were very organized going into the shoot, but had to adjust on the fly as Ken figured out what the car could and couldn’t do. The entire crew freaked when Ken hit that first (ridiculously long) drift though. We just started laughing because we knew we were in for a hell of a ride. I worked with Ken on the editing side for a few months and we went through several versions of the edit. Ken released the clip in October, first on his personal website, and then on YouTube, and we just sat back and watched it go richter. By January we were up to seven million views and were in production of the Bonus Edit. DC took the ball and ran with it on developing the website, t-shirt line, and ancillary media.

Who were the key players in making this happen?

Ken is a really unique person in that he is an incredibly gifted athlete but also has an acute understanding of how good production design can translate into cultural relevance. The chemistry of his driving, the Crawford built car, collaboration on the shot list and stunts, the location, the seasoned shooters that Mad Media brought in like DOP Michael Flores, and my own work with Ken in the studio on the editing side. It just all came together to make a very powerful, authentic, and fun project that made viewers want to share the clip with their friends. Props to DC as well for executing a great website, and producing some really cool t-shirts.

How did you promote the site?

Ken and DC are well versed in executing top-level marketing campaigns. Ken is competing in nine Rally America National Championship events as well as the X Games rally competition, and a few other high-profile race events annually. So he’s literally on the ground driving like a mad man for thousands of fans. There is also a consistent push to involve industry portals like 0-60 Magazine, as well as relevant forums like www.nasioc.com. The general traffic at the DC website is consistently high as well so that helps.

What have the traffic numbers been for the site to date?

The math on the project is pretty insane. We calculated that between Ken’s website, YouTube, and some of the ancillary web video sites there have been twenty million views of the clip. The new dedicated DC Gymkhana website was flooded the first week it went live because it was the exclusive site to view the new Bonus Edit. In a nutshell we’ve all become well-versed with problems associated with bandwidth, dedicated video servers, etc., as the project continues to gain momentum.

What other areas do you see expanding this idea into?

Unfortunately I can’t share any new details right now, but I will say that there is much, much more to come. We set the bar really high with the first project and it’s going to be tough to top it – but I’ve learned to never bet against Ken. Definitely stay tuned to the DC Gymkhana website!

What was/is your overall goal with the promotion? Have you achieved it yet?

One of the goals was to put Gymkhana on the map here in the US. While Ken wasn’t demonstrating a typical Gymkhana competition per se, I’m sure it will do a lot for this and associated sports like drifting and rally racing. There is more coming though. Much more. I’d say we’re just getting started – which is scary.

But just so we are clear…you won’t be seeing me on a Segway again anytime time soon!

Has this success resulted in more business/attention/press for Mad Media?

Yes it has! We’ve received a flood of inquires about producing similar content for a variety of companies. (In fact we’re already in pre-production on several of these projects.) So the Gymkhana project has become a real-world example of how we execute our viral film campaigns. We are by no means the only group to have this type of success, but we’ve developed a formula for creating authentic and culturally relevant content that supports both new and existing creative - which is not always easy to do.

What’s important to point out though, is that Mad Media been producing this type of content since the late 1990’s. We produced a viral video campaign for the Osiris Aftermath Tour in 1998, that was later developed into a sixteen episode TV show for FUEL TV. This was back in the dark days of dial-up, but we watched the video coverage from the demos drive record crowds of kids to each event. So for us this is fantastic recognition of what we knew was coming a decade ago. The democratization of web video has really leveled the playing field for producers, and has allowed us to compete directly with larger networks and studios. This is an ongoing paradigm shift, and ironically we are better positioned to capitalize on this trend as a creative group with in-house film and HD video production, than if we were exclusively a video production group or an agency that had to hire outside help for each video project.

The Gymkhana video project was just selected as an Honoree for the 2009 Webby Awards. The Academy recognized outstanding entries as Official Honorees alongside Nominees and Winners . The Official Honoree distinction was awarded to the top 15% of all work entered that “exhibited remarkable achievement”. With nearly 10,000 entries received from all 50 states and over 60 countries, this is an outstanding accomplishment for Mad Media and Ken Block. To be listed alongside HBO, IMG, Yahoo, ESPN, NHL, and the PGA as authorities on sports related viral film content is something we are very proud of.

About Mad Media:

Mad Media is a full-service multi-disciplinary create agency based in San Diego, California. We provide print, web, and HD video/film production services, and specialize in delivering compelling and dynamic media solutions for the 18 - 35 demographic. Mad Media currently provides national commercial and viral video film production for off-road legend BJ Baldwin / General Tires, as well as the Subaru Rally Team / Subaru of America and Monster Energy. For more information on Mad Media please visit: www.madmedia.com

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