Concept Summary

In time – and space In view of modern challenges to urban mobility – with bigger cities, more inhabitants and heavier traffic – urban transport gets more and more complicated. That’s why Mercedes-Benz Vans took a big leap into the future and built the VISION URBANETIC: a battery-electric and fully autonomous concept van. Thanks to interchangeable body modules, it can be a passenger transport by day and a delivery van by night. This presented us with a challenge: how could we dramatize a mobility concept that transforms not only the usage of space, but also the utilization of time? How would journalists truly immerse in such an event? The answer wasn’t exactly rocket science. It was theoretical mathematics, or more precisely: the theory of relativity. Accordingly, space and time are linked – so we sent our guests traveling in four dimensions. At first, to the top of their minds. With workshops and deep dives we raised awareness for urban challenges. Then we traveled through time. With a time lapse we showed the van’s work around the clock, from a cargo transport at night to a people mover by day. As time went by, our guests experienced a whole day in less than ten minutes. But as relativity told us, one cannot truly fathom time without space. That’s why we sent our guests on a third journey – through space. While experiencing the time lapse, they suddenly witnessed that they were sitting on a revolving stage, rounding the hours of a day. Just like a clock. The result was really something else. A truly immersive journey with huge coverage: over 3,000 articles and posts led to a 20 million gross reach via traditional print and 31 million via social media. Time was on our side.