Results and Effectiveness

We got Chinese men talking about the Beetle: We delivered more than 2 million impressions. Esquire micro blog was forwarded 400 times (not including repeated forwarding messages), 4X the industry average. Opinion leaders were attracted. Certified personal accounts forwarded the Beetle screen message 63 times. Certified official accounts forwarded 15 times. Influential accounts forwarded the message 8 times. Tracking showed that awareness and familiarity for the Beetle grew by 10% and 15% respectively among this previously skeptical audience. The Beetle started driving off the forecourt; the month after our special edition of Esquire was published sales were up 11%.

Creative Execution

Our target was wealthy and trendy. We identified their bible for fashion and quality lifestyle. "Esquire China" is the guru for this group. They have maxxed-out digital lifestyles, constantly on Weibo and WeChat. When they see something they like they tell the world. We took advantage of their talkability by bringing moving images to their monthly print bible for the first time. We inserted a 4.3-inch LED on to the magazine cover. Mounted with a metal frame, the screen was just 3.9mm thick. We delivered a dynamic, screen domination to the tastemakers for China. And since the screen could be taken out and transformed into a nice digital photo frame via a built-in holder, we gave them a memento of this incredible media first. We added our digital screens to 10,000 copies of Esquire. This innovation made the Beetle the must-talk about fashion icon for our target.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Over the decades, the Volkswagen Beetle had evolved into a car preferred by women. The third-generation Beetle, however, was faster, stronger and sleeker, and VW was determined to improve sales among men. Convincing our target that the third-generation Beetle was not a car for the ladies meant delivering a powerful and dynamic message. We had to appeal to two key emotional drivers for Chinese men: They love technology and the new, new thing. Innovation gets them talking. Recommendation is critical. Before they’d radically change their perceptions they want credible third-party’s endorsement that the Beetle really has changed. With VW seeking to dominate TV and outdoor screens across China as part of the launch we wondered if it was possible to bring the same screen experience to the static world of print. We’d make moving pictures a reality for print. We’d create the world’s first screen advertising experience in a magazine.