HOVER CAR

TitleHOVER CAR
BrandVOLKSWAGEN GROUP CHINA
Product / ServiceTHE PEOPLE'S CAR PROJECT
CategoryA05. Best Use or Integration of User-Generated Content
EntrantPROXIMITY BEIJING, CHINA
Entrant Company:PROXIMITY BEIJING, CHINA
Contributing Company:PROXIMITY BEIJING, CHINA
Contributing Company:GOODSTEIN & PARTNERS Beijing, CHINA

Credits

Name Company Position
Georg Warga Goodstein/Partners Ecd
Daryl Villanueva/Felipe Ferreira/Flavio Vidigal Proximity China Acd
Jojo Zhang/Vivian Liu/Derek Lui Proximity China Copywriters
Andy Li/Zoro Cui Proximity China Art Directors
Fang Ji/Sofia Lv Proximity China Designers
Hymn Wong Proximity China Motiongrapher
Ever Liu Proximity China Editor
Cameron Rimington Proximity China Head Of Ai
Catherine Liu/Maureen Sherrard Proximity China Project Managers
Alex Zhang Proximity China Planner
Enko Von Arnim/Guay Chinchye/Lorraine Zhang/Audrey Li/Carolyn Yu Proximity China Accounts Team
Alex Csergo Proximity China Md
Inna Pan Agency Producer
Stink Production Company

The Campaign

It is a well-known fact the People’s Republic of China has a very firm grip on all public media, be it private or state owned. All published content (particularly those of a commercial nature) is strictly monitored and audited by the Propaganda Department of the CPC (Central Committee and State Council). Their role is to supervise all radio, TV and online media toward a set of guidelines that are deemed suitable for public consumption. Any content or commentary that is Anti-Party, or of an overtly or inappropriate nature, can incur severe punitive damages or incarceration. Contentious content includes; sex, violence, political dissent or any number of possible transgressions deemed unfit for discourse or exchange. Even traditionally free channels such as Social Media are closely monitored. A somewhat extreme example is a non-approved religious group whose name is that of a popular flower (or girls name). Attempting to post anything using these characters on a social network prevents the user from posting, account suspension, or worse. Especially for a foreign brand, it is critical to be aware and adhere to these dictates to avoid any kind of embroilment, particularly when it comes to working with the established Social Network Services.

Results

After putting China on wheels, and truly being the People’s car for decades, Volkswagen was suffering. Being increasingly seen more as sensible and rational, far away from its former position as a leader, innovator and socially aspirational vehicle. We had to undo 10 years or more of perception in just over one. Competitors were fast gaining share and with price, improved quality and the widest vehicle choice available in the world. Chinese consumers were no longer seeing the VW brand as a symbol of status or desirability. To turn this around, we needed to re-position Volkswagen in a way that spoke to a new generation of car owners/first time buyers and leverage the formidable potency of China’s love of social media and all things online. But it couldn’t be just a campaign. We needed to move brand metrics but also deliver on purchase intent for Volkswagen. To achieve we needed to think in terms of a platform, go beyond a web-site and truly tap into China’s love of mobility, freedom of self-expression and the social web. www.zaoche.cn was launched April 19th 2011 and a creative movement that inspired. Harnessing the powerful potential of crowdsourcing, we first developed and distributed original a/v content to engage and inspire the people. Then, through a first-of-its-kind online dialog platform, we provided a suite of tools to help people design, showcase and share their ideas to their friends, peers, to China and the World. We then redistributed these ideas back into, and across, social media platforms and the wider web to stimulate voting and inspire commentary and creative exchange. PCP was integrated across 5 core social networks (which has now stretched out to reach 53), implemented social and gamification features, and delivered an ongoing roll-out of dynamic new functionality, content and incentives.

Possibly the greatest attraction to the People’s Car Project (www.zaoche.cn) was the fact that it was a destination for self-expression and for the individual to see their creativity become real. Rather than have a brand speak from a manufacturer’s standpoint, we asked a simple question, “What kind of car would you want?”. We seeded the project with rich video content augmented with super-real ‘cars from the imagination’. Once the tone was set, user’s ideas were; created, socialised, voted on, exchanged, discussed, sketched by car designers and in one case, actually brought to life and showcased at the Shanghai Autoshow.

1. Platform Performance • 11,256,760 – Unique Visitors. • 132,233 Ideas Created. • 307,753 Registrations. • 764,859 Votes. * Source: Omniture Web Analytics, Oracle Database 08/12 2. Social Networks • 3,161,453 fans. • Mobile App - 281,729 downloads. * Source: Mediacom/Media Owner Reported Data 1/12. Beyond the performance in traditional measurement, the impact in terms of Earned Media, and organic PR (beyond traditional media spend) was far beyond expectation. 3. Earned Media Performance (Prime 100 CHINA) • 213 Print Media Clippings RMB 32,151,072 • 1254 Web Media RMB 46,341,500 • TV Media RMB 1,763,067 • TOTAL VALUE RMB 80,255,639 * Source: VGC PR 4. PR Performance/Media achievement: • 3,905 media reports by 798 media • 10 national media awards • 8 offline events • 38 executive interviews • TOTAL Added Value RMB 136,000,000 ROI: 1,337% *Source: VGC PR 5. Purchase Intent From 2011 to 2012, we moved the dial 262% (Source: User Database 2012) (Source: User Database 2012) But we’ll let the media have the last word; “Netizen designs become Volkswagen reality at Beijing show” - China Daily “An automaker decides to crowd-source ideas for its product line” - New York Times