If you had asked me what I thought about Volvo a year ago I would have automatically said mom-mobile boring never ever going to own one, potentially even offering up a 'ugh' for dramatic effect. And while I still don't love the design of their cars (I'm more of a sports car type of gal), I do have very different thoughts about their brand as a whole. I now think Volvo wins hands down for most creative brand of 2015, improving their 'cool factor' by about 100%.
In the last 2-3 years, Volvo has managed to completely change its public image through two separate campaigns that cost them next to nothing. How? This seems to becoming a trend...you guessed it, using viral campaigns.
Exhibit A
We know from my first blog post that people try avoiding boring ads like the plague. However, this is not the case during Super Bowl Sunday. I don't mind football and actually quite enjoy it if it's an exciting game, but like millions of others I watch this particular game for the ads and the halftime show. This means the already large audience of football fans just got bigger and now also includes families, sport haters, business executives, the young, the middle aged and the old, males and females - pretty much Byron Sharp's wet dream. This also means that if you're a company trying to expand your market base (every company in the world who wants to succeed) this is the best day of the entire year to buy an ad spot. The only drawback is that a 30 second spot costs about $5 million. OK. So maybe you can't afford a spot but dammit you're accessing that audience if it kills you. So how do you do it? You highjack all of the other ads in your category for free, obviously. Watch the video - hats off to Grey New York for hiring the legend who thought up this campaign and the team of people who pulled it off.
So that was a B2C (business to consumer for my family members reading this) campaign and a wildly successful one at that. Round of applause.
Now, let's look at another challenge Volvo took on - making a B2B (business to business) campaign fun and appealing to people who not only work in the industry of trucking but also those who sit behind their computers all day getting into heated political debates in the comments section of YouTube.
Exhibit B
Volvo knew they had a great product. In this case they're talking about their new FH truck. And yet sales weren't as great as they should have been and they didn't have the budget to advertise in the same way their winning competitors were. Their first move was to hire a creative agency specializing in B2C work. I guess it took a while to convince Forsman & Bodenfors to take on the job (they turned it down 4 times before finally accepting) since they kept telling Volvo they didn't do B2B campaigns. But like most romantic comedies, once they gave in something beautiful happened.
The idea was to try to create a series of viral videos showing live tests of the new truck. Each video demonstrated a different feature of the FH in extreme circumstances.
It all started with a tightrope...
Next came The Hook:
Then the potential beheading of their technician:
And the talented hamster:
Then an exciting car chase like something out of The Italian Job:
All leading up to this moment. The Epic Split:
These videos have shown through extraordinary circumstances that Volvo basically makes really good trucks. Like really, really, really good trucks. And, as far as companies go, they're pretty likable.
I have to say, this one is my favorite so far (their latest - December 2015). The little girl is adorable and totally unaware that she might be wrecking a $100,000+ truck. Or maybe she is and she loves it - a girl after my own heart.
These ads have been extremely popular, raising awareness of Volvo's trucks generally and especially their new one. Just based on ROI, since the initial budget was so low, they were practically guaranteed to be in the black. Apparently sales numbers haven't been discussed with the public but Volvo's PR director has shared some of the results from their recent survey of 2,200 commercial truck owners and buyers and made certain comments:
- Nearly half who saw the "Live Test" videos, said they are now more likely to choose Volvo the next time they make a truck purchase.
- 1/3 of respondents had contacted a dealer or visited a Volvo Trucks website to learn more.
- The survey showed "a very positive impact on the perception of Volvo Trucks as an innovative and modern truck brand."
- "If we talk to our salespeople in our 140 markets all over the world, they tell us very often one of the first things prospective customers bring up in conversation is the viral firm."
All in a day's work (said no one who works in advertising).