Remember to keep your EYES ON THE ROAD. You’ll never know what can happen next… [Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing]
Approximately 1.35 million people die each year as a result of car accidents.
- – World Health Organization
It’s one of the leading causes of death around the world.
This auto manufacturer found a way to raise awareness in a unique yet shocking way.
Volkswagen
—a German car brand and one of the world’s most popular manufacturers.
They are known for their unique marketing campaigns too!
In all parts of the globe, Volkswagen finds different ways to promote its latest cars to the market.
In fact, they’re responsible for the classic “Think small” marketing campaign in 1959 to promote the Volkswagen Beetle—considered as one of the best marketing campaigns of the 20th century!
Fast forward to 2014, they launched a guerrilla marketing campaign called “Eyes on the Road.”
Instead of promoting one of their latest car models, this campaign focused on raising road safety awareness.
Volkswagen collaborated with OgilvyOne Beijing with one thing in mind…
Show the dangers of using mobile phones while driving.
Venue: MCL Cinemas, Hong Kong
Target: A group of eager movie-goers excited to see a movie.
They planted a location-based emitter in the theater. This device is used to send a text message to the phones or everyone in the chosen area.
This set-up is an important element of what was in store for the group of movie-goers.
The group entered the cinema, settled in, and made themselves comfortable.
Then, the previews started rolling.
A commercial was played.
It showed a person behind the wheel who started a car up and drove away.
Everything seemed to be normal while the audience watched the casual nature of the person driving.
All of a sudden, everyone’s mobile phones rang.
They received a text message.
Most of them, if not all, immediately got their phones to check then…
BAM!!!
The driver in the commercial shown on-screen crashed onto a tree.
After, a message appeared:
People in the theater were left shocked and speechless.
…
This short yet powerful campaign served as a reminder of how a split-second distraction can cause a fatal accident.
The campaign sent a strong message, becoming one of the most effective road safety campaigns.
OgilvyOne Beijing, the agency behind the ad, won 4 Gold awards at the 2014 Effie China Awards. Two were from the Media Innovation category and New Influencers category.
It was also a strong year for Volkswagen’s sales in the Chinese market, selling a total of 3.68 million vehicles.
Volkswagen and OgilvyOne Beijing showed that guerrilla marketing campaigns are not only used to promote brands and products, but they can also send powerful messages that promote a good cause.
Guerrilla marketing allows you to be even more creative and leave a strong impression that your audience will not forget.
Just like Volkswagen’s approach, you can make an impact while promoting everything your brand stands for.
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Fridays: Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing”
Jay Conrad Levinson (1984) said that Guerrilla Marketing “works because it’s simple to appreciate, easy to execute, and inexpensive.”
Guerrilla Marketing is unconventional.
Looking beyond the traditional ways of advertising, marketers, and advertisers need to spice things up in order for their brand to have campaigns that not only make an impact but also stick to their target market’s mind.
Guerrilla Marketing usually aims to have direct contact with consumers.
This type of direct contact should spark an emotional reaction that leads to consumers effectively remembering the brand.
It’s about making a big impression and making that impression last a long time (if not forever).
Guerrilla Marketing is inexpensive.
The effect of this is being able to create a buzz around the brand, and the strategy used to market it. Almost everything is passed around through word-of-mouth.
Word-of-mouth is one of the greatest outcomes and it usually doesn’t cost anything.
This is every business’ or brand’s dream!
Every Friday, we publish tips, examples, and other useful content on unconventional ways of marketing and promotion.
Learn more about how to grab your target market’s attention and make an amazing first and lasting impression without having to spend a lot of money.
Businesses don’t really need to spend much for a guerrilla campaign. You do not need a big budget to be successful. You just need creativity and a good imagination.
Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla!
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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