Social Media & Integrated Marketing Communications: The Odyssey of Rivian

The Rivian R1T - https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74717988 by Richard Truesdell

Would you call someone crazy if they bought a car from a company that had never made one before? Would you scream, “You’ve been robbed!” if they told you they weren’t going to receive the car for over a year? If so, then you have 30,000 people to scream at for ordering a Rivian.

RJ Scaringe in 2018

Rivian is a US electric car startup that has gained backing from companies such as Ford and Amazon. Founded by RJ Scaringe (pictured left, image by Richard Truesdell), an 'outdoorsy' entrepreneur in his 30s, the company is intent on showing skeptics that electric pick-ups and SUVs can be hardy enough to tackle the wilderness and survive. In 2018, after 9 years of work, they launched their first vehicles designed to do so, the R1T and the R1S.

Since then, Rivian has truly 'gone wild' (forgive the pun) weaving an epic tale of the development of both these vehicles through numerous social media channels. Of particular note is their YouTube channel, which has almost 70,000 subscribers, one third as many as Volkswagen. Not bad for brand that hasn't delivered a single vehicle to a customer yet!

Rivian's channel hosts vlog posts, which story the testing and development of the R1T and R1S as well as the development of sustainable company practices. The interesting feature of this use of social media, is that they are procuring customers for a brand new product whilst the product itself is still in the testing phases.

Such hype-building pre-order campaigns are increasingly becoming a feature of social media use in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) strategies for both new and existing automakers. Tesla launched a similar pre-order campaign for its Cyber in 2019 and BMW opened pre-orders for it's new IX car in late 2020.

Rivian's campaign has distinguished itself by putting a heavy emphasis on the entertainment value of its messages, which gives digital campaigns a stronger chance of success. They've combined their impressive social media presence (including an Instagram with 255,000 followers and a Facebook page with more than 65,000 followers) with a complementary presence on more traditional channels; a TV spot on Apple TV's series The Long Way Up and a product reveal at the L.A. Autoshow have been well co-ordinated with their social media campaigns.

Clearly, it's working. 30,000 pre-orders is nothing to scoff at for a vehicle that starts at $67,500 USD. The company is expected to go public later this year and could be valued at as much as $50 Billion, which might make it more valuable than one of it's chief investors, Ford!

- Would you bet your hard-earned cash on a car no one has ever driven?

- Do you think these preorder campaigns qualify more as social selling or social influencing?