VOLTS BY VOLVO

TitleVOLTS BY VOLVO
BrandVOLVO
Product/ServiceVOLVO
Category A05. Business Transformation
Entrant FAMOUSGREY BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Idea Creation FAMOUSGREY BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Media Placement MINDSHARE Brussels, BELGIUM
PR FAMOUS RELATIONS Brussels, BELGIUM
Production FAMOUSGREY BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Credits
Name Company Position
Peter Ampe FamousGrey Executive Creative Director
Jonathan Detavernier FamousGrey Executive Creative Director
Marc Richard Vander Heyden FamousGrey Creative
Diederik Jeangout FamousGrey Creative
Maarten Breda FamousGrey Experience Director
Maarten Van Daele FamousGrey Strategist
Barbara Van Huis FamousGrey Brand Leader
Matthias Roose FamousGrey Project Leader
Carola Michiels FamousGrey Business Director
Joachim François FamousGrey Digital Business Director
Kathy Van Looy Famous Relations PR Director
Laure Vandeghinste Famous Relations PR Manager
Déborah De Klerck Famous Relations PR Manager
Arno Van Biesen FamousGrey Developer
Kurt Van Nieuwenhove FamousGrey Digital Project Manager
Greg Ellinger FamousGrey Web Designer
Aldjia Bessalah FamousGrey Designer
Emily Rammant FamousGrey Productions Production Director
Loes Fierens FamousGrey RTV Producer
Frederik Zaman / Producer
Piet Devaert / DOP
Eli Sundermann FamousGrey Productions Sound Engineer
Jasper De Ryck FamousGrey Productions Editor
Willy Hebbrecht / Production Manager
René Aerts Jr. Volvo Car Belux Corporate Communication Director
Kristof Van Genck Eneco Marketing Manager B2C
Jurgen Vandervelde Eneco Chief Commercial Officer
Jurgen Vandervelde Eneco Chief Commercial Officer

Why is this work relevant for Innovation?

Pressure on the automotive industry for sustainable innovation is building up. It is why car brands worldwide are rapidly shifting towards electric vehicles. And while this is the first major step, none of them are talking about the real elephant in the room: can we ensure these electric vehicles are also charged sustainably? Volvo solved this paradox by shifting its business from a car manufacturer to a green energy provider as well, by offering people a 100% green energy contract. Finally electric drivers could truly drive electric as it’s meant to be: no emissions, and zero impact on the environment.

Background

Volvo’s mission is to become a 100% climate-neutral car manufacturer by 2025. Therefore Volvo is taking real initiatives towards reaching that goal, both from the brand’s perspective as the consumer’s perspective. For instance, Volvo is the first major car manufacturer that is offering an electrified plug-in hybrid as an option for all its models. Every model will be available as a full-electric version in the future as well. Volvo wanted to position itself as the pioneer of electric driving at the 2019 Brussels Motor Show. But with many competitors stealing the attention with new electric models, Volvo needed a big statement of another level.

Describe the idea

Volvo shifted its business from a pure car manufacturer to a green energy provider as well, by offering electric drivers the opportunity of a 100% green energy contract. With ‘Volts By Volvo’, people could power their house with pure wind and solar energy, and thus charge their car sustainably every time they do so. This way, Volvo gave people the full package of driving electric as it’s meant to be: no emissions, and zero impact on the environment.

What were the key dates in the development process?

08/18 – client briefing + strategy 09/18 – concept + proof of concept + client presentation 10/18 – creation + connection plan + client presentation 11/18 – creation + negotiations energy providers 12/18 – production campaign material + PR-approach 01/19 – launch

Describe the innovation / technology

‘Volts By Volvo’ is a 100% green energy contract for your home. So people could truly drive electric without any impact on the environment. The campaign was launched during the 2019 Brussels Motor Show, with an online platform which explained its reason of existence and gathered all the practicalities and pricing. Once signed up to, Volvo arranged everything for you, with a seamless and free service to change providers. Once you had the ‘Volts By Volvo’ contract, you were sure your house was powered with pure Belgian wind and solar energy. This way, every time you charged your car you were sure it was powered green. ‘Volts By Volvo’ was launched at the Brussels Motor Show in January 2019, and is currently offering green energy with a three year contract for electric drivers that signed up to it.

Describe the expectations / outcome

71% will re-evaluate their electricity contract because they saw the campaign. (source: iVox Survey) After Tesla, Volvo is the brand most associated with the environment. So it beats Audi in its E-tron launch year. (source: Northstar Brandtracker, Q1) ‘Volts By Volvo’ got a reach of 7.5 million Belgians, on a population of 11 million. 1 in 4 Belgian electric drivers engaged with our online platform. An international toolkit has been developed for other countries to use. All these results meant that Volvo was seen as a pioneer of the electric revolution within the automotive industry, which in the long term has a true impact on the growth of the brand, with Volvo aiming to be a completely climate-neutral car manufacturer by 2025.