The Context

The CUPRA name is a portmanteau of "Cup Racing”, reflecting the brand’s origins in the high-performance arm of SEAT. The Spanish automaker established enjoyed a winning streak in the FIA 2-litre World Rally Cup during the late 90s and the popularity of these high-performance SEAT models eventually paved the way for CUPRA to become a standalone brand, launched in 2018.

CUPRA is not only about powerful engines, they are embracing electrification with plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles. A relatively unknown brand outside of Spain, CUPRA needed support to lead the way in their no compromise approach to sportiness, design, innovation and the future of sustainability. 

The Rebel with a Cause

Demonstrating the art, science and imagination required them to create a brand from scratch and disrupt the status quo, we leveraged CUPRA founder and CEO Wayne Griffiths – whose rebellious ethos is inextricably linked to the brand – to shatter outdated expectations of design and technology.

How One Man Created Europe's Hottest Car Brand

By achieving profile coverage in Fortune, Forbes, Wallpaper*, WIRED, The Sunday Times and Bloomberg TV, we significantly bolstered CEO Wayne Griffiths’ public persona, positioning him as a peerless visionary within the automotive industry. 

With a combined reach in excess of 1 billion, Citizen’s strategic comms approach played an instrumental role in transforming CUPRA into one of Europe’s fastest growing automotive brands, striking a chord with a generation of younger customers looking for something different: not heritage, tradition, nor prestige, but provocative design and a rebellious attitude, inspired by the brand’s roots in Barcelona.