Business challenge: to transform automotive safety from something traditional and expected into a meaningful and relevant movement in line with Volvo’s purpose and brand strategy. In specific, the challenge was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Volvo’s safety belt.
The Auto Industry has an equality problem. Women are 47% more likely to be seriously injured, 71% more likely to be moderately injured in and 17% more likely to die in a car crash. The car industry has been aware about safety inequality for years, but still have not incorporated equal car testing. But not when it comes to Volvo. They have gathered real-world data since the 1970s to learn what happens during a collision — regardless of size or gender. This has made Volvo cars equally safe for all people With the EVA Initiative we have moved to change that.
Describe the strategy
We conducted stakeholder interviews, consumer surveys, studied Volvo’s proprietary and third-party safety research, reads through NCAP testing protocols, SEO analysis, more than 100 hours of desk research including press from 1960 and onwards.
The challenge was to catch the attention of regular consumers around a complex subject. The average car buyer has up to 900 digital and physical touch points before purchasing a car. We also know that you need consistency to build trust. So, to raise awareness around an issue as complex as global gender equality, we created assets for as many touch points as possible. Combining online with offline, we made sure that every touch point connected with audiences and created an engaging and emotional experience. All in local languages across more than 70 markets, so consumers everywhere could clearly understand the idea and share the message.
Describe the execution
The challenge was to catch the attention of regular consumers around a complex subject. It went live at a live streamed summit hosted by Volvo. After that, we launched the campaign globally, using the car safety inequality to prove Volvo’s safety authority. To engage people, we showed how the injustice affects women in a direct way. Getting attention was by by making it digital-first, yet supply it with especially DOOH/OOH which is great for driving better digital and social results. The campaign spanned web, social platforms, outdoor, social influencer campaigns and PR.
Every campaign element directed people to the website where anyone could download the research and learn how it has led to Volvo’s most innovative systems. The site played a crucial role in building credibility and global reach beyond paid media. We aimed to reinterpret as many different touch points as possible to make the data relatable.
List the results
The campaign quickly became news and sparked a global conversation about equal road safety. Additionally, the highest number of downloads came from China, where 100 new car brands see the light of day every year - this without the campaign even running in China. Other carmakers embraced the initiative, such as electric vehicle startup Uniti.
The European Commission tweeted out their appraisal for the campaign, for raisning awareness around the inequality, and especially for trying to eliminate it. Volvo Cars Brand Share of Voice online exceeded Audi, Land Rover and Volkswagen in the period – all brands Volvo Cars usually falls behind. Volvo Cars saw a peak in positive sentiment online of 13.1%.
Countries: +71
Campaign site visits first month: 850.000+
Downloads from library: 20.000+
Film views: 135.000.000+
+900 news outlets
Earned media reach: +500M
SoMe reach: +100M
SoMe impressions: +290M