Volkswagen: One Thing

Credits & Description:

Award: Finalist Certificate
Competition: AME
Competition Year: 2014
Agency: DDB Team Blue, DDB Tribal B/HH, Tribal UK, Grabarz & Partner
Agency Country: GERMANY
Agency City: BERLIN
Competition: 193 2014 AME Awards
Category: PS01 automotive
Category Group: products & services
Brand/Sponsor: Volkswagen
Title: One Thing
Item Company: DDB Tribal B/HH, Tribal UK, Grabarz & Partner
Item Country: GERMANY
Creative Director: Amir Kassaei
Production Company: N/A
Production Company Producer: N/A
Campaign Cost over $25 million
Product Type Golf 7
Campaign Start 10 / 08 / 2012
Campaign End 12 / 16 / 2012
Campaign Ran The Golf has been launched with one campaign for Europe in more than 30 markets. So, the Golf launch campaign had to meet the needs of very heterogenous markets with immense cultural differences.
Campaign Description new product launch
Marketing Context Europe in a period of economic uncertainty
The euro zone crisis, and governments budget-tightening measures prescribed to combat it, have hurt demand. Record unemployment has squeezed household budgets and left consumers reluctant to upgrade older models. Much of the younger generation lack the means to purchase their first car. The market is shrinking and car sales just keep falling. According to the European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association we saw the 17th consecutive drop this February, with sales falling nearly everywhere. With 64% of the Golf sales coming from Europe, the launch of the Golf VII was in an extremely bad starting position.
The year of the Golf is in danger to become the year of the Mercedes-Benz A-class Starting with the World-Premiere in Geneva, followed by the pre-flight during the European Championship in summer and the final launch campaign in September, the new A-Class dominated the news. In contrast to the timeless design of the Golf, the new A-class has absolutely nothing in common with the old. And this clearly offered more news value than another Golf launch. The A-class is a new chance for Mercedes to gain younger customer, and is all about aggressive conquest. “We are aiming for a share of this segment. If other makers happen to have models that compete, that’s their problem, not ours.” kept David McCarthy, Mercedes-Benz senior manager of corporate communications, saying throughout the year.
Golf enters its seventh incarnation
Since 1974, more than 29 million people have decided for a Golf – making it the best sold car, ever. Well, not just a car – DAS Auto, really. But Golf is in danger of losing consumers, especially younger ones, to other models and other brands. They think the Golf is “boringly good”. It ticks all the boxes but doesn’t excite them. There’s a gap between Golf being the rational choice (leader in every benchmark) and the emotional choice (most desirable and anticipated).
The challenge
Making a market icon a consumer icon
We were challenged to highlight the emotional importance of the Golf – making it not only the one right choice, but the best one for every you. We need young and old feel ownership of the brand and excited by what it can offer to them – also in contrary to the new A-class. Even if times are bad, the Golf is the one car they can rely on for an optimist look into the future.
Campaign Planning
For the first time in its history, the Golf should be launched with one campaign for Europe (more than 30 markets). The biggest step for Volkswagen on its way to become one global brand.
To ensure a consistent launch, a three-phase campaign has been created that bridged both traditional and digital media providing a seamless experience for consumers under the campaign“The ONE car for the ONE you”. Therefore, we wanted to get really close to “every single” people. While the first phase was about engaging consumers, the second presented the Golf as a celebration of the icon. In the third, features matching precisely human needs were communicated.
Although the seventh generation of the Golf was the most innovative Golf ever, we did not derive the campaign messages from the car itself. Being the most human car ever, a real “Volks”wagen, the Golf campaign focused on the people and their very individual needs.
Marketing & Media Strategy
Communication Objectives
1. Activation Phase
• Be visible and drive extraordinary buzz around the Golf
• Encourage interactions & engagement
2. Positioning Phase
• Launching the Golf VII with broad awareness
• Confirm leadership position in A-Segment
3. Proof Phase
• Evoking deeper involvement for the car itself
• Prooving the Golf is the people’s car
(Volkswagen) Brand Objectives
• Emotionalize the brand (Sympathy & Confidence)
• Establish Volkswagen as “One global brand”
Model (Golf) Brand Objectives
• Reinforce the emotional reason to buy
• Improve brand values esp. innovative and responsible
• Create identification and pride
9. media strategy
Phase 1: Activation “The ONE for the people”
Raising awareness for the one and only things people have in their life. An online-platform was build to answer these questions and all media measures aimed at one goal: visits on www.onething.com . Here users could create their own profile and share their answers with their friends via the facebook, Twitter and Google+ social networks. Promotional games and a personalized film, which presented the answers brought additional value.
To effectively reach people on their terms and engage with those who are most likely to generate earned media, “onething” has been supported by several well-known personalities that publicized the questions on their own online social channels. (e.g. DJ Paul van Dyk).
International artists also talked about the “onethings” in the first-phase TV commercial which served as a complementary medium. Print and OOH guaranteed exposure to kick start the activity.
To truly connect with people, we chose channels to activate non-digital people in the real world – all connected through “onething.com” just as D-OOH in Germany.
After establishing the importance of the Golf for people’s life, the Paris Motorshow revealed the 7th generation – the Big Bang.
Phase 2: Positioning “The ONE born again”
A more conventional channel strategy favouring emotional engagement was chosen:
TV was selected as the prime channel (ca. 46%) – but with an innovative approach e.g. Italy saw the first use of an ad on Smart TV.
Print contributed to the message, clearly celebrating the icon. Innovative use of outdoor media played a huge role. Germany saw a 3D mapping on Hotel Adlon whereas Metro Stations have been customized in France.
The “ONE for the people” also become “the ONE born again” on our centralpiece “onething.com” which turned into a product-driven site letting consumer experience the icon.
Phase 3: Proof “You have to know the people to build the people’s car”
After creating awareness and buzz for the new Golf in the first two phases, the proof phase started with the day of the Golf market launch.
In this phase we proved the Golf’s features to a broad range of audience by using mass media like TVC and Print Ads but also becoming more social, real and interactive. A speaking iPad App that literally understood the people, a website, that used the ‚Vvsualizer’ an interactive online film, a book about the Golf, mailings etc.
Creative Strategy
37 years of experience, of listening, of observing understanding human behaviour and providing superior design, driving, use... Golf always has been FOR people and by people. Golf is Volkswagen, the heart of the one brand that has always understood what is essential to people in cars.
Insight
To find out what is really important to people today, to understand what they really value and desire - in life and in cars – we needed them to commit to one thing only. Positioning the new Golf as the ONE essential answer for people in cars – the ONE car for the ONE you.
Solution
The challenge with a standard such as the Golf is to make the inherent self-evident something special. Then the customer will recognize the emotional importance of Golf to them. In order to communicate the idea of uniqueness both emotionally and believably, to raise an active interest and to generate as much talk-value as possible, strong analogies were sought. Analogies that demonstrate to people in a playful and implying way that the Golf actually is their favourite car, “Das Auto”.
In Phase 1 (“Activation”), we used the fact that people only really want to worry about important things in life when they are asked in a playful manner (“What would you take with you to a desert island?”), the campaign initiated a very personal dialogue with the audience.
Not just about cars, but about life. About music, art, about favourite food, sport teams. About love. We inspired people to think, to make commitments to one single thing in each category that one wants to have for the rest of days. In total we have asked seven questions that could be answered on “onething.com”. A platform shaped by the collaborative work of many users.
Just like the Golf: the one car you can and you want to rely on for the rest of your life. In this way we were able to define the Golf and its role for people in an emotional and way and to communicate its importance.
While “Activation” was about questions and the ONE and only things people have in their life, in the second “Positioning” phase seamlessly followed the idea and proved the leadership position of the Golf – the ONE born again.
This human approach was consequently continued in the third Phase („Proof“). The creative strategy and execution was based on the very human oriented leitmotif: You have to know people to build the people’s car.
In a first step of the launch phase, the TVC used different people in different life stages covering the heterogeneous target group performing their own interpretation of Depeche Mode’s song ‚People are People’, a real iconic (and human oriented) song. The TVC including a cameo and first time ever advertising appearance of Dave Gahan, the band’s front man. Thus, the communicative idea was staged in a very emotional and human way.
In a next step, we wanted to prove the communicative idea. Therefore, communication in this phase came from a human insight showing that Volkswagen really knows the people. In TVCs and Print Ads, interesting human insights and facts linked the car to the people in a very relevant manner as the facts showed that the new Golf was the answer to the people’s needs, as diverse they might be.
As a result, the new Golf is the icon – but portrayed in a human way. And the ONE car ahead of the game because it understands what people truly desire.
The new Golf is the ONE car for the ONE you.
Evidence of Results
Overall objective:
To remain the No. 1 in Europe and to become the No. 1 in people’s heart
Golf VII became the people’s first choice – The ONE choice by heart
After they have seen the campaign, almost 3 times more people would make the new Golf theirs. And in 4 countries it’s the no.1, ahead of it’s competition.
Golf VII remained the No.1 in Europe – The ONE in the market
Target Audience
Golf = Everybody
Golf has always been the ‘anytime anyplace anywhere’ kind of car. Relevant to everybody – from middle to upper-class, from brand loyal to traditional customers to open minded for innovations. Golf is not addressing some people, but all of them.