If you don’t remember the commercial for Volvo for him Super Bowl XLIX of 2015, it is because there was not. On February 1 of that year, more than 28 million people tuned in to the game and watched the respective commercials. However, the brand that achieved the greatest reach was the Swedish automaker, even without appearing on screen.
The campaign, called The Greatest Interception Everwas developed by the global marketing and advertising agency Gray New York. As the name suggests, the goal was to ‘intercept’ their competitors’ ads on the game stream, with a simple but brilliant strategy.
“On February 1, during the big game, you’re going to see a lot of car commercials. But you won’t see Volvo. Instead, we want you to be part of the biggest interception,” they say in the original spot.
The company decided to raffle through Twitter five cars Volvo XC60 with value of $35,000 back then, pick up Adweek. The dynamic was that, every time a commercial for another car company aired, viewers had to tweet the name of a loved one who deserved to win, using the hashtag #VolvoContestand explain why they chose that person.
An innovative campaign concept that worked like a charm
brands like Toyota, lexus, nissan, KIA, Fiat, BMW Y Mercedes Benztogether they spent about $60 million to advertise in the 2015 Super Bowl, where each 30 seconds on the air They had a cost of $4.5 million.
However, Volvo stole the limelight and gained enormous visibility at low cost during one of the world’s most popular sporting events.
“While other companies show you what matters to them, we want to know who inspires you, who moves you, who matters most to you. Who would you give a Volvo to?” the ad concludes.
Instead of focusing on the benefits of its product or the experiences associated with it, Volvo’s campaign focused on people, potential customers or not, listening to its stories to reward them with a nice prize. And it worked.
- Volvo received an average of 2 thousand tweets per minute while broadcasting their competitors’ ads.
- It is estimated that more than 55 thousand people tweeted the hashtag #VolvoContest.
- The campaign got 52 thousand mentions in the social network.
- Was the most tweeted auto industry spot the night of the game, beating firms that paid to appear.
- Was the only car company to trend on Twitter globally during the game. And not just once, but three times, thanks to 30-second windows of hyperactivity, he explains. Marketing Examples.
But the most impressive figure is the direct result of the strategy in the business: sales of the Volvo XC60 model increased 70% in the month after the Super Bowl.
For its part, the agency Gray New York won a Grand Prix in the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for the campaign intercept.
The keys to success in Volvo’s advertising strategy
The campaign showed that innovation is also about getting people to interact with a brand in a simple, fun and interesting way. Here are some of the lessons we can learn from their successes:
1. Highlight the positive values of the brand
Volvo opted for a risky tactic by ‘revealing’ against the Super Bowl commercials and facing the competition in real time. However, he did so from a low-key and emotional stance, highlighting the positive and credible values associated with his brand in the marketplace, such as the importance of family and safety.
2. Generate expectation online and offline
As well as announcing the contest on social media, Volvo made sure to create awareness big time two days before the match. the presenter Jimmy Kimmel he explained the dynamics on his television show and they gave away a Volvo XC60 live.
3. The art of using social networks in your favor
Twitter had already proven its value as a direct means of communication between brands and consumers. In the 2014 Super Bowl, more than 25 million tweets associated with the event were sent, so the platform offered good possibilities.
An activation like this gives relevance to the brand and unleashes the participation of Internet users. By running the giveaway exclusively on Twitter, the firm fueled the growth and engagement of its community. It also allowed to generate interaction peaks, unlike contests that send you, for example, to a website or to download an app.
4. The offline impact and beyond
Volvo’s strategy was a star topic in the media and ran from mouth to mouth, making the campaign transcend until today. The story was picked up by hundreds of publications around the world, print and online.
It is calculated that only the mentions in the media had a value equivalent to the 44 million dollars. That is, about 73% of what its competitors spent to insert their brand in the game that year, according to Impact.
Mairem Del Rio Addicted to watching series and movies, doing (a little) exercise and changing my hair color. I am also a journalist, with more than 16 years of experience and dedicated 100% to digital media since 2011. I have been from reporter and community manager, to editor in various media and agencies. My areas of expertise are as diverse as they are contrasting: entertainment, travel, lifestyle, health, business and finance. Now I am focused on the entrepreneurial ecosystem, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, metaverses and the promising cannabis industry in Mexico.