8 Million Social Media Views for Winnebago Accessibility-Enhanced RV Influencer Trip

These results won a Silver Award in the Best Use of Influencers Category for the 2020 Bulldog PR Awards.

The Company

Winnebago Industries, Inc. is a leading U.S. manufacturer of outdoor lifestyle products and commercial vehicles under the Winnebago, Grand Design, and Chris-Craft brands, which are used primarily in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. The company builds quality motorhomes, travel trailers, fifth wheel products, boats, and commercial community outreach vehicles. Since the 1980s, its Specialty Vehicles division has leveraged the Winnebago motorhome platform to design and build vehicles for community and mobile outreach. Vehicles include bloodmobiles, mobile medical scanning, bookmobiles, mobile surgical instruments lab, mobile preschools, and more. Winnebago Industries has multiple facilities in Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, and Florida. 

The Challenge

In 2019, the Specialty Vehicles Division of Winnebago Industries launched its Accessibility-Enhanced (AE) line of standardized wheelchair ready motorhomes for people with mobility restrictions. This critical market is historically under-served by the industry. With a very narrow target audience and a small advertising budget, numerous tactics for conventional marketing and sales of the Winnebago Accessibility-Enhanced RVs were providing lukewarm results. 

The Strategy

After conducting research, Technica noticed significant growth in “interabled” influencers on social media with a strong following of mobility-challenged individuals. After initial planning, we determined that one of the best ways to reach our target audience was through these channels via a real-world influencer trip. These trips could show off the features of the RVs while at the same time, promote them to an existing audience of dedicated fans. 

Technica targeted partners for the Winnebago trip with a significant social media following and whose personalities would align best with the trusted Winnebago brand. After identifying various accessibility sites, social media accounts, and YouTube channels, Technica developed a lead funnel of target prospects. The response was immediate and successful, and Technica selected the popular influencers “Roll with Cole & Charisma” for this first trip. At the time, Cole and Charisma had over 273,000 subscribers on YouTube, 35,000 followers on Instagram, and nearly 18,000 followers on Facebook. 

To support the campaign, Technica worked with the influencers and Winnebago’s legal department to develop an agreement and various supporting documents before the trip. Materials included a detailed social media plan, influencer itinerary, posting guidelines to maintain compliance with FCC regulations surrounding promotional posts on social, and a troubleshooting/FAQ document for running the RV itself.

To aid in execution and increase engagement, Technia managed and monitored the Winnebago AE accounts for interaction on posts related to the trip. We also utilized the itinerary and the information provided by the influencer to create daily posts and stories to highlight each day’s adventure, which included the influencer daily photo uploads.

The Results

During the trip, Technica tracked and evaluated reach, engagement, and impressions on the influencer feeds and coordinating posts on the Winnebago SV social channels. The top post garnered over 5.7 million views, and between Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram stories, the campaign garnered nearly 8 million views. 

Additionally, the campaign had a total reach of nearly 15,000, with over 45,000 unique impressions. With an engagement level of 1,131, and followers on the Winnebago AE social media accounts grew by nearly 15 percent. The sales team in the Specialty Vehicles department of Winnebago noted that sales inquiries and leads increased significantly during the range of time the trip was in effect. 

As a result of this successful influencer campaign, the Specialty Vehicles Division of Winnebago Industries tasked Technica with planning and executing a series of similar trips in 2020 and beyond. The Winnebago Specialty Vehicles team never considered this type of public relations and social media activity; and it has now become an essential tactic for the future and growth of the AE line.