Title	VOLTS BY VOLVO
Brand	VOLVO
Product/Service	VOLVO
Category	A03. Durable Consumer Goods including Automotive
Entrant	FAMOUSGREY BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Idea Creation	FAMOUSGREY BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Media Placement	MINDSHARE Brussels, BELGIUM
PR	FAMOUS RELATIONS Brussels, BELGIUM
Production	FAMOUSGREY BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

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 PR?

‘Volts By Volvo’ is a green energy contract for your home, so electric drivers could finally truly drive electric without any emissions or impact on the environment. But rather than just a new service, ‘Volts By Volvo’ also was a big brand statement. In the current automotive revolution of electrification, Volvo positioned itself as a pioneer by thinking one step further about sustainable driving. This PR campaign helped Volvo to showcase its commitment of being completely climate-neutral by 2025.

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 creative idea (20% of vote)

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.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

Volvo believes in driving electrified, but it also wants people to charge sustainably. Because what’s the point of driving electric, if your energy comes from coal fuelled power stations? That’s why Volvo wanted to make electrified driving not only about cars. We made drivers aware that they should not only drive green, but also charge green. We enabled them to do so by launching Volts by Volvo, a green energy contract for their house, completely Volvo branded and powered by green energy provider Eneco. With a national survey and PR we educated the general public about the paradox of driving electrified and helped Volvo position itself as a pioneer within the automotive electric revolution. With a targeted campaign we invited electrified drivers to switch to VoltsbyVolvo. On the Q3 brand tracker, Volvo Belgium rose to the second most sustainable car brand, right behind Tesla.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

A partnership was set up with Belgian green energy company Eneco, acting as supplier of energy and ‘Volts By Volvo’ as official energy company. People were sure they got 100% Belgian renewable energy. First we conducted a national survey to expose some inconvenient truths about driving electrified. Not surprisingly, about 91% of people buying electric cars do so to lessen their impact on the environment. The paradox, however, is that 56% of these drivers are not aware of the source of their energy. Even 24% acknowledge they charge their electric vehicle with unsustainable energy sources such as nuclear energy and coal powered plants. ‘Volts By Volvo’ got its own website, explaining the reason of Volvo’s business transformation, and with all the practical details of the green energy contract. With a few clicks, people could sign up, and Volvo would arrange your switch of energy provider without you having to intervene.

List the results (30% of vote)

‘Volts By Volvo’ was launched at the 2019 Brussels Motor Show. And while all competitors talked about electrification, Volvo really grasped the attention of the media by addressing the real elephant in the room. ‘Volts By Volvo’ got a reach of 7.5 million Belgians, on a population of 11 million. 71% will now 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) 1 in 4 Belgian electric drivers engaged with our online platform. Conversion rates were 20 times higher than a traditional energy campaign.