PHD Global Business triumphed at the World Media Awards with their ‘Volkswagen – For the Many, Not the Few’ ID.3 campaign. The independent jury selected PHD’s campaign as the winner of the Automotive category commenting: “This campaign provided a great solution around the democratisation of new electronic vehicle technology to make the Volkswagen ID.3 synonymous with e-mobility.”
The World Media Awards provide a unique opportunity to celebrate the creativity and effectiveness of cross-platform, cross-border, content-driven advertising – bold and innovative strategies that engage with international, influential audiences.
A brief summary of ‘Volkswagen – For the Many, Not the Few’
The Challenge
VW hoped to bring e-mobility to the many, not the privileged few and make the Volkswagen ID.3 synonymous with e-mobility. They were ranked 17th in Electric Vehicles (EV) leadership across the EU. Playing with the tension between mass and narrow media, PHD and VW convinced 30,000 people to each deposit €1,000 bringing Volkswagen and e-mobility closer together, with the big twist that VW didn’t even show the car!
The Creative Solution
PHD created two distinct roles for communication: 1. Fame: Talking to the masses through a high-reaching emotional manifesto to announce Volkswagen’s intent within e-mobility. 2. Persuasion: Tightly targeting early adopters to break down barriers and land desirability of a model no-one could see through PR and digital channels.
The Results
The campaign elevated Volkswagen to the #1 most searched brand in the e-mobility arena moving ahead of Tesla for the first time (using a proprietary “search curiosity” metric developed with Google). PHD succeeded in generating 30,000 deposits for the ID.3 which people couldn’t even see! The deposits were achieved leading up to the unveiling at the IAA auto show in Frankfurt. Additionally, the website conversion target more than doubled.
See the full list of World Media Award 2020 winners here.
