OPEL'S AIRMAIL FOR VOLKSWAGEN
| Title | OPEL'S AIRMAIL FOR VOLKSWAGEN |
| Brand | OPEL GENERAL MOTORS AUSTRIA |
| Product/Service | OPEL |
| Category |
A09. USE OF SOCIAL IN A PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN |
|
Entrant Company
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WIEN NORD Vienna, AUSTRIA
|
|
Advertising Agency
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WIEN NORD Vienna, AUSTRIA
|
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Media Agency
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CARAT AUSTRIA Vienna, AUSTRIA
|
Credits
| Bernd Wilfinger |
WIEN NORD |
Creative Director |
| Eduard Böhler |
WIEN NORD |
Creative Director |
| Andreas Lierzer |
WIEN NORD |
Art Director |
| Katja Claus |
WIEN NORD |
Graphic Designer |
| Christoph Pausz |
WIEN NORD |
Copywriter |
| Christian Hellinger |
WIEN NORD |
Copywriter |
| Markus Mazuran |
WIEN NORD |
Account Executive |
| Louise Hudson |
WIEN NORD |
Account Manager |
| Philip Jäcklein |
WIEN NORD |
Agency Producer |
| Albert Waaijenberg |
|
Producer |
| Michael Schmidt |
Vi Knallgrau |
Online Consultant |
The Brief
In their never ending rivalry, Opel occupied the world’s biggest Volkswagen convention,where 170.000 fanatical fans and all the important Volkswagen officials were celebrating their brand. Just the right place for Opel to make a self confident statement in front of the world’s press.We contrived an absurd media experiment,which played with the expectations of Volkswagen fans to overcome their biases and to entertain Opel fans as well as the whole public. the experiment and the way it was carried out strengthened Opel’s new image as a up-to-date and smart brand, which is always one step ahead of its competitors.
Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation
Weeks before the convention we circulated apparently leaked self-made videos,of pigeons in "squadron training" online and systematically spread an absurd rumour throughout Volkswagen fan communities,facebook+youtube:Opel is training pigeons to poop exclusively on Volkswagen cars and plans to send them to VW’s annual convention!National media covered the story and the fear grew stronger.Anxious fans rallied and distributed self-made covers and repellant sprays to protect the paint of their cars. Finally,what we had planned to happen,did:NOTHING.The entire pigeon thread played out exclusively in the minds of the Volkswagen fans.In reality,we only released white doves,to show Volkswagen it was time to make peace.
Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results
First of all peace between Opel and Volkswagen was achieved. And of course for Opel and its fans it was a lot of fun too, as well as for the whole car industry and many others. Thanks to the huge mediacoverage initiated by the prank, a lot of people had been entertained for weeks, even a few Volkswagen Fans.
To quantify this absurd media experiment: With almost no budget spendings we achieved 3.8 millions media impressions.
Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service
Millions were caught up in the pigeon phenomenon. In the course of the media experiment Opel was featured as an up-to-date brand, which is aware of people’s life and needs in nowadays world, their media use and all appropriate expectations. Furthermore we prooved Opel takes advantage of relevant developements, even the ones outside of the car industry, and therefore always is one step ahead of the competitors.