A Brand Designed for Global Success

Founded in 2018, CUPRA has become one of the fastest-growing car brands in Europe in just six years. CUPRA has gained ground in a highly competitive market, thanks to its daring image that attracts customers looking for new experiences, forming the CUPRA tribe. Because CUPRA sells emotion, captivates with its groundbreaking design, and boldly claims that driving electric cars is full of adrenaline. In short, it’s a brand designed for a group of driving enthusiasts united by their rebellious spirit.

The main ambition of this strategy was to position CUPRA as a truly global Spanish brand. Despite the intense competition in the automotive sector and the challenging global economic climate, CUPRA has thrived. In 2023, the brand designed the most ambitious communication strategy in its history.

Firstly, the strategy is based on a brand definition with distinctive values that make CUPRA unique and highly attractive to the new generation of drivers: it challenges the status quo, it’s a rebellious brand, it stands out for its car design, it inspires the world from Barcelona, and it breathes sportiness and emotion. Based on these values, and with the ambition to become an iconic global brand, CUPRA built a strategy around two pillars:

• Visibility in major international media: positioning Wayne Griffiths, CEO of SEAT and CUPRA, and the brand in top international media.
• Disruptive storydoing in all brand actions: from CUPRA CITY GARAGES to highly disruptive events and genuinely rebellious brand ambassadors.

CUPRA’s communication, which is in full international expansion, has accompanied its business growth, generating visibility in its main markets through a network of international agencies: APPLE TREE for Spain, Citizen Relations for the UK, KMB Creative Network AG in Germany, Cap et Cime PR in France, and Mirò Comunicazione in Italy.

• Media relations for the brand in international outlets that build reputation. Global automotive media, as well as lifestyle media, consider CUPRA as the most desirable brand.
• Positioning the CEO as a “rebel with a cause”: The CEO is the first to preach that design, the excitement of driving, and electric cars are the future of automobiles. Therefore, an ambitious visibility plan was developed for the brand’s main representative, CEO Wayne Griffiths. This involved: a) a media relations program with major global and national outlets; and b) an ambitious content plan on LinkedIn and Instagram, where the tribe that made him a top voice on LinkedIn in record time is present.
• Rebellious brand ambassadors: young talent driving transformation globally. CUPRA has added to its TRIBE professionals who excel in various fields such as culture, music, and sports, admirable professionals who work to accelerate change. The brand’s tribe includes Alexia Putellas, Marc Ter Stegen, and J.A. Bayona, among others, and it collaborated with artist Rosalía.
• CUPRA CITY GARAGES: from a showroom to a center for local culture and trends: In trendsetting cities like Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Munich, Lisbon, Rotterdam, Sydney, Berlin, and Paris, CUPRA has opened CUPRA CITY GARAGES, brand experience centers that connect with cities and their culture, hosting events and exhibitions, and contributing to the development of new local talents and collaborations. These new spaces, located in exclusive and iconic spots in major cities worldwide, offer a unique and unconventional customer experience, placing people at the center of their distribution strategy.
• Events that are out-of-this-world experiences: In 2023, CUPRA designed the largest hybrid event in automotive history for the world premiere of the CUPRA Tavascan. For the international launch of the first hero of the new era, the CUPRA Tavascan, the brand transformed Hangar 5 at the former Tempelhof Airport in Berlin into a portal to another dimension, where the barriers between the tangible and the virtual vanished to unleash new exponential experiences. One highlight was a performance by Willow Smith, who performed on a Tavascan in holographic format.

In just six years, we’ve managed to make CUPRA one of the TOP 11 most valued Spanish brands, according to Interbrand’s 2023 ‘Best Spanish Brands’ report, occupying the eleventh position. Additionally, its brand value increased by over 50% in just one year according to Interbrand’s global study from 2022 to 2023.

Wayne Griffiths is among the top 5 industry leaders with the highest share of voice in 2023, ahead of Oliver Blume (CEO of Volkswagen Group and Porsche) and Thomas Schäfer (CEO of Volkswagen).

In 2023, CUPRA recorded a historic delivery record of 230,700 units with a 51% growth, being the fastest-growing European brand in 2022 and 2023, and achieved €625 million in operating profit, the highest in SEAT S.A.’s history.