2021 Brand Experience & Activation

VOLVO: BLINDSPOT BILLBOARD

TitleVOLVO: BLINDSPOT BILLBOARD
BrandVOLVO CARS BELUX
Product/ServiceVOLVO XC40
Category B04. Use of Print or Outdoor
Entrant FAMOUSGREY Brussels, BELGIUM
Idea Creation FAMOUSGREY Brussels, BELGIUM
Media Placement MINDSHARE Brussels, BELGIUM
Media Placement 2 CLEAR CHANNEL Vilvoorde, BELGIUM
Production LANDVOGEL Antwerp, BELGIUM
Production 2 FISHEYE Gent, BELGIUM
Additional Company VOLVO CARS St Agatha Berchem, BELGIUM
Credits
Name Company Position
Balder D'hondt Volvo Cars Belux Consumer Experience Director
Lolita Swanet Volvo Cars Belux Marketing Campaign Manager
Peter Ampe FamousGrey Creative Director
Antoine Wellens FamousGrey Creative
Vanessa Hendrickx FamousGrey Creative
Olivia Naudts FamousGrey Account Director
Matthias Roose FamousGrey Account Manager
Klaartje Vanmulders FamousGrey Account Executive
Maarten Breda FamousGrey Experience Director
Sacha Lempereur FamousGrey Digital Designer
Floris Adriaenssens FamousGrey Strategic Planner
Wies Dickens FamousGrey Digitial Strategic Planner
Stijn Swinnen FamousGrey Webmaster
Marlies Neudt Famous Productions (part of FamousGrey) Agency Producer
Charlotte Bodson Famous Productions (part of FamousGrey) Agency Producer
Kurt De Leijer Landvogel Director
Piet Steyaert Landvogel DOP
Yannick Verdonck Landvogel Executive Producer ( production agency)
Maud Van Parys Landvogel Producer ( production agency)
Sven Van Hee Famous Productions (part of FamousGrey) Editor
Martijn Ravesloot Landvogel Music
Jean Waterlot Landvogel Music
Dan Klein Landvogel Music
Eli Sundermann Famous Productions (part of FamousGrey) SFX & Mix
Pieter Troch Fisheye Project Manager
Kobe Roels Fisheye 3D artist
Roel Kint Fisheye Development
Charlotte Massa Mindshare Client Manager
Julie Andrade Clear Channel Manager Digital Sales
Charlotte Snijckers Clear Channel Strategic Sales
Soufiane Ar Razouki Clear Channel IT & Digital Operations

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

The Volvo Blind spot Billboard is an interactive billboard that warns drivers of incoming cyclists in real-time through the creative use of DOOH. By using this everyday medium in an unexpected way, we made Volvo’s Safety vision tangible to our audience in a relevant and immersive way. Both cyclists and drivers could immediately experience the added value of our safety features in everyday situations, we were able to establish a direct and personal connection between them and Volvo. Showing that the value of road safety remains something tangible and relevant in their daily life.

Background

In Belgium, over 25% of all car sales are realized in January. After 2020 being a “lost” year due to the covid crisis. Car manufacturers will do anything to regain market share, resulting in a huge communication offensive from all competitors. In order to stand out from the clutter, we wanted to emphasize Volvo’s historical lead in safety using the claim “make every driver a safe driver” However, safety is becoming more and more a commodity; claimed by different car brands that introduce similar safety innovations. If we want to increase brand consideration and thought leadership in this domain, we need to keep refreshing this association. Our mission was to create an activation that would increase brand consideration and support our tactical sales campaign. By letting consumers experience the added value of our safety features in everyday situations, we made safety something tangible and relevant in their daily life.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

As a pioneer in safety, Volvo wants to make every driver a safe driver. Unfortunately, we can’t put everyone in a Volvo. We can, however, take Volvo’s blind spot detection technology (i.e BLIS) out of the car into a digital billboard. And that’s what we did. In one of the busiest streets of Brussels, known for its many accidents involving cyclists, a radar sensor was installed on top of a billboard signaling in real-time and 3D to nearby cars when cyclists were approaching. The billboard made all drivers aware of the presence of cyclists in their blind spot, even if they didn’t drive a Volvo. On top of that it also noticeably increased the safety of Brussels cyclists.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

For the past few years, cycling is on the rise in Belgium. More and more Belgians are using their bike for both recreational and commuting purposes, especially in cities. (+64% in 2020) However, infrastructure is lagging behind. Government investments are unable to follow the sharp increase of cyclists, resulting in unfit and dangerous situations for all road users. This led to the fact that, although fatal traffic accidents in Belgium have halved the last 15 years, fatal accidents involving cyclists have risen by 25%. In most cases, the blind spot is one of the main causes of serious or fatal bicycle accidents. As far back as 2004, Volvo already tried to deal with this problem by creating the first blind spot detector. Today, with the increasing number of cyclists on city roads, we found it appropriate to highlight the importance of its BLIS (Blind Spot Information) system once more.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

BLIS is a safety system that warns drivers of approaching vehicles behind and on the left and right side of the driver using integrated radar sensors. We’ve installed sensors on top of the DOOH to detect all movement in the street and filter cyclists from a distance of 45 meters. This sensor is connected to a compact PC that controls the screen on the DOOH. Through the radar, we were able to activate an animation on the DOOH. As soon as a cyclist approached, a 3D animation in real-time appeared accompanied by a warning sign for the drivers. Both the distance to the DOOH and the speed of the cyclist are displayed synchronously in this animation. An extra warning is displayed when the cyclist is about to cross the side street, urging the driver to stop before turning right.

List the results (30% of vote)

During the 2 weeks, our campaign was live, the blind spot billboard was experienced by more than 222.000 drivers. On top of that, the awareness video on social was watched over 2.2 million times. The campaign also caught the attention of both national and international press, receiving coverage in all national newspapers and being internationally featured by LLB, Adforum, Contagious magazine, and Directory, resulting in a PR value that surpassed our total campaign budget multiple times. But most importantly, the campaign didn’t miss the mark when it came to sales. In January, the number of offer requests had more than doubled compared to last year (+117%). And in a declining market (-13%), Volvo managed to increase sales by a staggering 7%. Leading to a severe increase in market share with the Volvo XC40 being the most popular car model in Belgium until today.