Title	MEDIA THAT 'EATS' POLLUTION
Brand	VOLKSWAGEN UK
Product/Service	VOLKSWAGEN ID.3
Category	B03. Use of Print / Outdoor
Entrant	PHD London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation	PHD London, UNITED KINGDOM
Media Placement	PHD London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production	TALON OUTDOOR London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production 2	DDB London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production 3	TRIBAL WORLDWIDE London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production 4	GLOBAL STREET ART London, UNITED KINGDOM
Post Production	TALON OUTDOOR London, UNITED KINGDOM
Additional Company	VOLKSWAGEN GROUP UK LTD Milton Keynes, UNITED KINGDOM

Name	Company	Position
Lauren Hertzenburg	PHD UK	Planned and executed total media campaign
Benjamin Rutherford	PHD UK	Planned and executed total media campaign
Matt Holliday	PHD UK	Oversaw media campaign development
Carrie Millard	PHD UK	Developed core strategy for media campaign
Rhidian Taylor	Volkswagen Group UK Ltd	Day to day client on the campaign
Glyn Butterworth	Volkswagen Group UK Ltd	Campaign Support
Sarah Cox	Volkswagen Group UK Ltd	Campaign Support
Alex Lucas	Adam & Eve/DDB	Creative
Jon Farley	Adam & Eve/DDB	Creative
Tom Lybch	Volkswagen Group UK Ltd	Supported with the PR campaign
Ant Nelson	Adam & Eve/DDB	Executive Creative Director
Mike Sutherland	Adam & Eve/DDB	Executive Creative Director
Sam McMeorge	Adam & Eve/DDB	Project Director
Louis Lunts	Adam & Eve/DDB	Business Director
Foula Schanche	Adam & Eve/DDB	Account Executive
Richard Cable	Tribal	Creative Director
Victoria Buchanam	Tribal	ECD
Rupert Cottam	Tribal	Project Director
Will Gibb	Tribal	Digital Business Director

Why is this work relevant for Media?

No matter how complex modern media has become, this campaign is a great demonstration that the medium is still the message – a perfect example of media channels not just delivering the message but also bringing the essence of a product to life themselves.

Background

As part of its commitment to being carbon neutral by 2050, VW developed the ID.3, the world’s first fully electric car to be produced and delivered 100% net carbon neutral. Our task for 2020? Demonstrate VW’s eco-credentials and deliver 2020’s sales targets in the toughest trading conditions imaginable.

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

When a brand has had negative PR around its eco-credentials - as Volkswagen has in the past - you need to work harder than the competition to re-earn trust. Because consumers who value the environment hold brands to higher standards. • They’re 60% more likely to look for substantiation of claims & certification on products before they buy • They’re 70% more likely to buy products which demonstrate to others what they believe in • And they are a group who hold brands to the greatest account on sustainability. (Source for all: TGI) The eco-friendly target audience for the all-electric ID.3 isn’t an audience who have the wool pulled over their eyes. That meant our launch media campaign had to go BEYOND delivering the message in the right media. It had to prove Volkswagen’s commitment through actions – our choice of media - not just the words on the ads

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Volkswagen’s new ID.3 is made and delivered net carbon neutral. But there’s no point in selling the environmental benefits of Volkswagen’s electric mobility if the media plan isn’t environmentally friendly. So, we set out to create a launch media strategy that was as clean as the ID.3 itself. That’s why we made the decision to USE CHANNELS THAT NOT ONLY DELIVERED THE SCALE NEEDED FOR A BRAND-NEW CAR LAUNCH but to also USE THE CHANNELS THAT HAD THE LEAST IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT. Our strategy would see product benefit, brand message and media placement all acting in perfect harmony - going beyond words and deliver Volkswagen’s eco commitment through every facet of the comms plan.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

EATING POLLUTION The literal poster boys of the campaign were a series of OOH murals. In major cities across the UK, we painted mural ads for the ID.3 using a unique air purifying paint called Airlite. This meant that the ads for the ID.3 were actively ‘eating’ pollution from the air. Every 100 square meters of paint used delivered the same effect as if we’d been able to plant 100 square meters of mature woodland. When the launch campaign ended, we left a clean air legacy by painting over the murals with white Airlite paint which would continue the job. Across a year offsetting the emissions of 18 cars. We also extensively used carbon-neutral digital OOH locations which only use green energy to power their screens. Finally, we delivered a time-lapse video of the mural sites being painted and ID.3’s message of carbon neutrality across TV, Social and VoD.

List the results (30% of vote)

Putting the ID.3 green credentials at the heart of our media planning paid off. • 20m+ Brits saw our pollution-eating ads. • The air cleansing OOH sites made quite a splash, picking up PR coverage in mainstream titles such as the Daily Mail and the Sun, delivering an incremental media value of £110,000 • The campaign drove over 1m web visits, with the ID.3 beating its 2020 sales targets by +9% (with December +28% over target in one of the automotive industries slowest sales months). • And in just its second month on the market, the ID.3 became the UK’s best-selling electric car, overtaking its closest competitor the Kia e-Niro.