WHAT DOES BEETLEING EVEN MEME?

Bronze Spike

Case Film

Presentation Board

TitleWHAT DOES BEETLEING EVEN MEME?
BrandVOLKSWAGEN
Product / ServiceVW BEETLE
CategoryA06. Best Use of Special Events And Stunt/Live Advertising
EntrantSPARK PHD Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Media Agency SPARK PHD Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Entrant Company SPARK PHD Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Media Agency 2 SPARK PHD Auckland, NEW ZEALAND

Credits

Name Company Position
Matthew Vogts Sparkactivate Account Director
Kristy Mayo Sparkactivate Account Director
Josie Tapper Sparkactivate Senior Account Executive
Rachel Stewart Spacestation Media Manager
Kim Gribble Spacestation Media Planner/Buyer
Polly Williams Spacestation Senior Digital Strategist
Jas Gierlinski Spacestation Digital Director
Elise Stickley Spacestation Campaign Manager
Lara Christie DDB New Zealand Account Manager
Susie Darling DDB New Zealand Account Director
Scott Wallace DDB New Zealand Group Business Director
Sasch Avandelovic DDB New Zealand Creative
Kevin Bachtia DDB New Zealand Creative
Natalie Knight DDB New Zealand Creative Director
Gavin Siakamotu DDB New Zealand Creative Director
Andy Fackrell DDB New Zealand Executive Creative Director

Results and Effectiveness

Beetles SOLD OUT at pre-sale stage, contributing $1M+ additional revenue to Volkswagen. Traffic to the site saw a massive 66% increase. The Facebook target was blitzed. 22,000 new fans joined in just four weeks – the equivalent of 7 million people in China when comparing to proportion of population. New Beetle enthusiasts were created, with a 12% database increase. In May, the Marketing Manager of Volkswagen NZ visited Volkswagen HQ in Berlin and presented Beetleing to Volkswagen’s Global Marketing Roundtable. It is being heralded as one of the most innovative launches of Beetle. Ever. Beetleing: a checkered flag for Volkswagen.

Creative Execution

Beetleing had to live in our audience’s world. Channels needed to provide social, REAL and geographically relevant experiences. Sparking the fire Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and our ambassadors led the charge. Local A-listers started Beetleing across NZ. From parliament in Wellington to the beaches of Auckland we built intrigue before launching the campaign. Then we fed it A radio partnership then gave us national reach, driving listeners to our Facebook page where we offered the ultimate Beetleing prize. “Beetle” for a Beetle. We took it to the streets. A series of activations at NZ’s busiest locations drove entries and keep gave our meme what it needed most – momentum, content and endorsement. We kept it moving Amazing content did the talking. Online formats pulled in live images of Beetleting, daily print placements showcased the best ‘Beetlers’ and prime time TV activity celebrated NZs Beetlers en masse.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

The fun-loving, youthful image of Volkswagen had lost relevance in NZ. Tasked with selling the new Volkswagen Beetle to a next-generation bright young things, the challenge was that they lacked a connection with the iconic car. Nostalgic memories of the summer of ’69 in a bug? No way. What they did love was a good trend, with a local twist. Something with global scale, but relevant on NZ’s streets. Meme: an element of a culture or behaviour that spreads from person to person. We had to be consumer-fuelled and part of their social vernacular. While the rest of the industry talked tech and price we changed gear, dropped all car-talk, and sparked a meme; weaving the Beetle into a social movement. We didn’t need to show the car. We let our meme-influencers do the talking. Beetleing: the act of imitating the Beetle’s iconic shape in unlikely or unusual locations