| Title | EIGENTLICH EINFACH |
| Brand | VOLKSWAGEN FINANCIAL SERVICES |
| Product/Service | WEB CAMPAIGN |
| Category |
C05. Financial Services, Commercial Public Services, Business Products & Services |
|
Entrant Company
|
RETHINK Berlin, GERMANY
|
|
Advertising Agency
|
RETHINK Berlin, GERMANY
|
|
Production Company
|
M4 AUTOMOTIVE Hamburg, GERMANY
|
Credits
| Andrea Krier |
Rethink Gmbh |
Project Director/Account |
| Merlin Scholz |
Rethink Gmbh |
Project Director/Editorial |
| Brian O'connor |
Rethink Gmbh |
Creative Director |
| Joe Landen |
Rethink Gmbh |
Project Manager |
| Nicole Kuderer |
Rethink Gmbh |
Art Director |
| Isabell Seifert |
Rethink Gmbh |
Image Editor |
| Mona Ciotta |
Rethink Gmbh |
Assistant |
Brief Explanation
Volkswagen Financial Services is the first financial services company in Germany to have its own video program on the Internet: The Web Series 'Eigentlich einfach' (roughly translated as, “Simple, actually”). The overriding goal was to bring members of Generations Y and Z into contact with the brand. Volkswagen Financial Service is a direct bank and has no branch offices. This makes it ideal for a generation that does most of its banking online. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. Video content is an important trend that also Facebook has acknowledged and expanded its network as a result. Volkswagen Financial Services reaches its target audience in a familiar space and creates valuable content for its social media channels at the same time.
Results and Effectiveness
Volkswagen Financial Services' YouTube channel currently has 1,445 subscribers. Many of those subscribers have joined in the last couple months to watch 'Eigentlich einfach'. That puts Volkswagen Financial Services among the top three of all German banks and the top German direct bank when it comes to subscribers on YouTube, one of the websites top indicators. In an eight-week period the program received 1,011,391 views on Facebook and some 155,906 views on YouTube. YouTube traffic onto the Volkswagen Bank website jumped by a factor of 60 since the start of the campaign.
Creative Execution
The 'Eigentlich einfach' format is presented by both the TV car mechanic Lina Van de Mars and YouTube star Christoph Krachten. Practical tips about cars and finances are presented in 12 tutorials on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and the Volkswagen Financial Services webpage. Notices are also posted on Instagram. The tutorials are made for a general audience and require no knowledge or expertise to fully understand them. Viewers are encouraged to engage with the information and realize that it is not so complicated after all, in fact, it is “simple, actually.”
Insights, Strategy and the Idea
The main target audience are people between the ages of 18 and 35 years. These potential customers are not or only vaguely familiar with the Volkswagen Financial Services brand. YouTube and Facebook offer perfect platforms to convey credible testimonials about mobility and finances, which are at the core of the brand. How-tos and tutorials are popular search terms and address the needs of the target group.