Volkswagen: Generations [short film]

Credits & Description:

Brand VOLKSWAGEN
VERY PATCHWORK Copenhagen, Denmark Entrant Company
VERY PATCHWORK Copenhagen, Denmark Idea Creation
SHOOT HAPPENS Copenhagen, Denmark Idea Creation
SHOOT HAPPENS Copenhagen, Denmark Production
Sune Svanborg Sørensen Shoot Happens Writer & Director
Christian Juliussen Shoot Happens Executive Producer
Thomas Bjerg Very Agency (Very Patchwork) CEO
Marie Rasmussen Very Agency (Very Patchwork) Agency Producer
Thomas Pries Freelance Creative Director
Published: October 2017
Synopsis
Together with Volkswagen we identified a gap between the perceived value versus the real value of their cars. In other words, the target group didn't feel that the price of the "product" was equal to the purchase.
Therefore, we saw the need for a platform that would enable Volkswagen to engage with the target group on a more emotional level than merely functional benefits - thus, elevating brand preference over time.
To do so, we decided to bring back the "Volks" in "Volkswagen" - because in the end it's a car's ability to connect us that makes a car more valuable than the money we pay for it.
Volkswagen has a long history of cars that follow families throughout generations and so we realized that all these shared memories perfectly bridged the gap between the target audience and their emotional connection to the brand. Providing that the stories felt real.
Strategy
The campaign was focused primarily on it's ability to engage the audience in a strong drama with a real and relatable story. The films primary purpose was to engage the target audience and bridge the gap between the perceived monetary value and the real emotional value of the brand.
Consequently, we engaged in "feature film"-like project directed by Danish director, Sune Svanborg Sorensen, and starring several famous Danish stars; Torben Zeller, Katrine Jensenius and the lesser known Christopher Poll. The objective was to make a real film, which would engage the audience on their own terms, rather than a traditional commercial.
The purpose (connecting the target audience emotionally to the brand), was more than accomplished as they embarked on their own stories of memories with their VW cars, showered the film in positive comments, shares, and likes, whilst both word-of-mouth and buzz indexes jumped through the roof.
Relevancy
"Generations" is an untraditional, unpolished story about family relationships. In a final attempt to re-connect after years of falling out, Alex - encouraged by his mother - embarks on a road trip with his father in their old family Beetle. The journey forces them to deal with their past and to look inwards - ultimately opening their eyes to each other and enabling Alex to become a better father to his own son. The audience is left with a powerful message about how the shared memories of a car can bridge the gap between even the most broken family ties.
Outcome
With more than two million having watched our long-form film with an impressive VTR (view through rate) of 46% on organic reach and a tremendous response in cinema as well, this project has already made quite an impression in Denmark.
Users consumed more than 50,000 hours of the Volkswagen short-film, with amazing response as a result. The film was showered in good vibes and got over 10,000 likes, shares, and comments – but, what numbers don’t show is the positive degree of how the film resonated with people’s own experiences and emotions and it's personal impact. The most common response, when sharing the film, was that it was “worth every minute”.
Volkswagen achieved the ultimate earned value as “Generations” contributed to a 35% increase in buzz score and 21% increase in their Word of Mouth score over the course of the campaign period (Source: Brand Index).
Execution
The project's first phase including online branding film supported by a content hub and followed up on social media (Facebook, Youtube) as well as in traditional media. After this first campaign launch, which was in October and received overwhelming response, we launched a full short film in cinema, online and on film festivals, which was launched in March and was equally well-received.
It soon turned out that we had hit a nerve. In a small country of only 5.5 mio people, the film was watched by more than 1,2 mio. people in the first campaign run with a staggering VTR (view through rate) of 46 % on organic reach and showered in positive response with more than 10,000 likes, shares, and comments. Now the numbers are higher than 2 mio and still counting - considering the format (long-form) this is quite simply astonishing.
Campaign Description
We wanted to create a real, relatable and strong story about how a car can re-connect even the most broken family ties through shared memories. Subsequently, establishing an emotional connection to the story as well as the brand.
After the succesful online launch of a branding film we launched a full short film online and in cinema with the focus on the fragile aspects of family relationships – a father/son conflict about how each of us strives to be a better version of ourselves for the next generation. Not unlike Volkswagen's pursuit to constantly improve on their previous generations of cars.
In the end, the aim was to make a movie that would resonate with the target audience and create a positive response about the story and the brand - thus establishing an emotional connection. Fortunately, the audience response to the film was staggering and tremendously positive.