| Title | HOVER CAR |
| Brand | VOLKSWAGEN GROUP CHINA |
| Product / Service | THE PEOPLE'S CAR PROJECT |
| Category | A09. Best Use of Social Media Marketing |
| Entrant | PROXIMITY BEIJING, CHINA |
| Entrant Company: | PROXIMITY BEIJING, CHINA |
| Advertising Agency: | PROXIMITY BEIJING, CHINA |
| 2nd Advertising Agency: | GOODSTEIN & PARTNERS Beijing, CHINA |
| Media Agency: | MEDIACOM Beijing, CHINA |
| 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 | Copyeriters |
| 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 Ia |
| Catherine Liu/Maureen Sherrard | Proximity China | Project Managers |
| Alex Zhang | Proximity China | Planner |
| Enko Von Armin/Guay Chinchye/Lorraine Zhang/Audrey Li/Carolyn Yu | Proximity China | Account Team |
| Alex Csergo | Proximity China | Md |
| Inna Pan | Agency Producer | |
| Stink | Production Company |
The video got 18 million views online, inspiring users to analyze the technology behind the idea. The story caught the attention of the local and international press. Hover Car became the benchmark for future automotive designs,eventually transforming Volkswagen from a conventional car company to an innovative one. It spread to the local and international press, including the New York Times, Forbes, The Huffington Post, and ChinaDaily. -#1 in online presence amongst all car brands -#1 most talked about car brand on social media -21,000 more site registrations -141,000 total user ideas -70% of people polled perceive Volkswagen as innovative
In 2012, Volkswagen celebrated the people by turning their ideas into reality. Over 121,000 ideas were submitted. The winning ideas came to life as tangible products, short films and showcases at major Chinese auto shows. The Hover Car, a winning idea from a girl in Chengdu, inspired Volkswagen to reimagine the future of cars. Volkswagen applied magnetic levitation technology to her idea, turning it into a concept car. Next, we celebrated her idea by dedicating a film to her, featuring the girl’s parents test-driving the Hover Car. The film was finally revealed to her at a fake movie screening, where her friends, family, and a flash mob made an appearance. Online audiences followed her journey on Chinese video platforms. Together with the people, Volkswagen continued to innovate by launching the Music Car and the Intelligent Key at the Beijing Auto Show.
After reigning for decades as the brand that put "China on wheels", Volkswagen was suffering. 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 buyers and leverage the formidable potency of China’s love of social media. Our answer was the People's Car Project, a platform that inspired people to create and share new ideas for cars. People with no engineering or car design background got to help Volkswagen reimagine the future of cars.