To really prove VW’s positioning as a user-centric innovator, we invited Timo as ambassador of the 180,000 Facebook fans, to the Volkswagen HQ to help us build the next generation baby stroller to showcase VW’s two main technologies: adaptive cruise control and automatic braking. We made a short film referencing our campaign, telling Timo’s story and introducing the stroller as if it could be the next new product coming from Volkswagen. We sent out press releases to various publications, with specific narratives for each relevant reader groups (parents/mothers, automotive, tech and gadget).
Initially, we aimed for 300,000 views generated by earned media. At the end of the campaign over 400 online publications had written about our video including Huffington Post, Buzzfeed and Yahoo. Volkswagen got showered with questions from all over the world. Our video was viewed 2,231,864 times with an engagement rate of 1.2% and the video got shared vociferously on social media reaching a total of 14,644,024 impressions.
In our 2015 brand campaign for Volkswagen, we showed a mom expecting a stroller to brake automatically, just like her VW. One comment by Timo Ros sparked a spirited debate on new uses for VW break assist technology, creating an opportunity to strengthen the relationship with Volkswagen’s most dedicated brand ambassadors. We wanted bring this conversation to a larger audience, while highlighting two of VW’s most innovative technologies: adaptive cruise control and automatic braking. It’s not often that you get the chance to truly bring your audience’s collective imagination to life, so we jumped right on the opportunity to create a great innovation that made VW relevant beyond cars. To emphasize VW as user-centric innovator, we invited Timo to become the ambassador of 180,000 Facebook fans, join us at the Volkswagen HQ and help mold the creative power of the crowd into a real prototype designed by VW fans.