A Clever Stunt: Tier’s ‘Beat Traffic For Good’

There are many terrific outcomes to be celebrated as the pandemic eases, but the return of traffic is not one of them. Tier Mobility, Europe’s leading shared micro-mobility provider (think electric scooters), recently latched onto that insight to get more urban workers thinking about ditching their cars.

Leveraging research indicating that car owners spend way too many hours stuck in traffic, Tier arranged for 42 influencers in Berlin, Oslo, Gothenberg and Paris to spend numerous hours each in their cars and stream to their followers about their claustrophobic experiences.

In Berlin seven participants were in their cars for 108 hours (the average number a car owner is stuck in traffic in Berlin every year.). In Oslo nine people stayed in their cars for that city’s 98 hour average. And pity the poor Parisians: There five folks had to endure 133 hours in their cars.

Among the activities undertaken by the diverse influencers (e.g. political activists, yoga teachers & vegan bloggers): meditations, book readings, getting a tattoo, unplugged concerts, eating, sleeping.

“The activation showed that there is not much you can do while being stuck in traffic for hours,” explained Roman-Alexander Schafer, Tier’s global communications director. Viewers in 40 countries watched participants endure the boredom and discomfort that is part and parcel of being stuck in a car.

Schafer said the streams reached a collective audience of more than 7 million people — a big group for this young brand. The company was very pleased by awareness generated, positive consumer feedback and the initiative’s success at “showing what TIER as a brand is standing for and what our mission is: change mobility for good.”

Also impressive is the rapidity with which the campaign came together. Four weeks passed between the time that Tier’s Sweden-based agency Around You developed the initial concept and it was brought to life.