Kwik Fit encourages customers to have a ‘Kwik Chat’

New campaign created by VCCP urges motorists to check in on loved ones while waiting for their MOT

Today, leading automotive maintenance provider, Kwik Fit, and its creative agency of record VCCP launches ‘Kwik Chat’, a new nationwide campaign which aims to shine a spotlight on mental wellbeing and inspire action from its customers.

Kwik Fit’s campaign stems from the insight that 1 in 3 UK adults prefer not to discuss their mental health, with 40% of men having never spoken to anyone about it. Performing over one million MOTs and services annually across 650 centres, Kwik Fit sees one million chances to support mental wellbeing simply by encouraging customers to start a conversation with a loved one. As a staple on high streets nationwide, Kwik Fit is in a unique position to turn routine waiting time into meaningful connection.

Directed by Mike Upson through production company MindsEye, in collaboration with VCCP’s global content creation studio Girl&Bear, the 60” hero film encourages Kwik Fit customers to turn the ‘dead time’ of waiting for their cars to be serviced into a dedicated moment for mental maintenance. The film features a Kwik Fit technician gliding through the garage and waiting room on a mechanic’s trolley, stopping at different customers to deliver a deadpan message directly to the camera about taking time to have a “Kwik Chat”. 

By using Kwik Fit’s characteristic deadpan humour to talk about a serious subject matter, the campaign reframes the brand’s purpose of keeping Britain’s drivers safe and happy and applies it to mental wellbeing in an accessible, approachable way. The campaign was ideated by VCCP Creative Directors Dipesh Mistry and Drew Haselhurst, alongside creatives Olivia Keable and Rob West, and builds on the award-winning ‘Drive away happy every time’ brand platform developed and strengthened over the last six years. 

The campaign extends across the entire customer journey, supported by Kwik Fit’s owned channels. These include posters and leaflets which will feature in waiting rooms, custom audio advertisements which will play in customer waiting rooms and inspire people to pick up the phone, staff posters and manager communications, and a selection of centre-proximity billboards. With £1 million in ITV commercial airtime having been awarded from ITV’s ‘Head First’ award, the campaign will span UK TV to deliver the message nationwide and inspire drivers of Britain to take action. 

Tom Gentle, Head of Retail Marketing at Kwik Fit said: “At Kwik Fit we are experts on car maintenance, not mental health specialists – we’re simply nudging people to call someone they care about whilst we look after their car. Our nationwide footprint means we can do this at scale, and do our bit towards improving the mental wellbeing of our customers and the people they’re close to.”

Dipesh Mistry, Creative Director at VCCP added: “It’s rare you get to make work that sneaks into everyday culture and leaves people’s heads in a better state than we found them. Using comedy to tackle a subject like mental health lets us land a serious message without being heavy-handed. If we can fix a tyre and a mood at the same time, I’d call that a decent day at the office”

The campaign originated after winning ITV’s ‘Head First’ award in May, recognised for best highlighting mental wellbeing and inspiring action through TV advertising, securing £1 million in ITV commercial airtime.

The campaign will run nationwide from today on TV, and will be supported across social, centre radio, and centre OOH.

Source: VCCP

  Advertising, Campaign, Girl&Bear, Kwik Fit, Marketing, VCCP