At a price point just below 30K, Audi's A3 sedan was built for a younger affluent driver, who was striding into their prime. 

These lower price point luxury models are often luxury-lite, full of compromises, short cuts, and good enough. Which is at odds with the audience’s approach to life. They are beginning to taste success because what some deem as good enough is never enough for them. 

While developing the launch strategy, I was taken to a secret location at the NY Auto Show and shown a final prototype of the car. A leading engineer gave me a detailed and fascinating look at the car. He took particular pride in showing me how small the gap was between the hood and the car's front end. It was paper-thin. He explained this was a mark of Audi going a little bit further than others would. 

Later that day, inspecting the main competition, the Mercedes CLA, I stuck my thumb between that same space where the hood meets the front end. It was small difference to the untrained eye but a grand canyon in quality to those who cared. Audi had not compromised quality in even the smallest detail. They did entry-level their way, all the way them, without compromise. 

The car and the audience shared a connection; they would not conform to norms or live and drive half-heartedly; they would remain uncompromised. 

It was Audi's most successful US vehicle launch. 

Role: Strategy Lead

Additional strategy work done by Kasra Sadi