There’s no doubt that the introduction of smartphones has had a monumental effect on consumer’s daily lives. They allow us to connect with people anywhere and anytime, access a world of information at our fingertips and provide us with a source of entertainment….but what happens when they become more of a hazard than a help?

It seems that these days, consumers have become far too reliant on their smartphones and in turn, have become susceptible to their distractive nature. Even though consumers know they shouldn’t, many cannot abstain from their mobiles when completing homework, are in class or even driving.

Whilst using mobile phones in all of these instances can have detrimental effects, the concept of texting and driving is by far the most dangerous.  Although many drivers know the risks associated with using phones whilst driving, there are still a number who believe that they can ‘get away with it’ or that ‘checking one text won’t harm them’. Unfortunately, it is this ignorance which leads to a great deal of car crashes each year.

Whilst researching the impact that mobiles can have on driver’s behaviour i came across a recent study which found that:

• Texting while driving makes a driver 23x more likely to crash.
• Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver’s reaction time as slow as that of a 70 year old.
• Answering a text takes away your attention for about five seconds. That is enough time to travel the length of a football field.
• Texting while driving causes a 400% increase in time spent with eyes off the road.
• Texting while driving kills 11 teens each day.

You can find more of these shocking stats by clicking here. I suggest you take a look, it’s certainly an insightful read.

So as you can see mobiles and driving certainly don’t go well together. VW felt the need to reiterate this notion to the public, and decided to create a ‘Safe Driving’ campaign.

For this campaign VW implemented various strategies – some which were digital and some traditional. Whilst this blog post will predominantly focus on their digital strategies, the posters which they displayed in Cape Town were bold and courageous and shouldn’t be disregarded.  In saying that, I strongly recommend you check them out here. Below is a quick sneak peak of their creativity:

Now back to the digital marketing aspect of this campaign….To further address the issue of texting and driving, Volkswagen created a strategy known as “Eyes on the Road.” This can be seen in the video below:

The strategy was greatly received by consumers, praising its “very clever and thought provoking” nature and insisting that it’s “a must watch”. More thoughts and comments from the public can be found here.

Upon reflection, i believe that there were 3 great components to this strategy which made it so powerful:

1. The consumers were unsuspecting-The people in the video were just everyday people, like you and me,  who were going to the cinema to watch a movie. Consequently, VW was able to capture the raw wave of  surprise which overcame the audience in response to the car crash. This heightened the overall ‘shock’ factor.

2. The use of technology to include consumers in the experience-The use of a location-based broadcaster allowed VW to send a text to all consumers in that cinema. Instinctively, these consumers all reached for their phones to read the message only to find that they were in fact a part of the advertisement themselves. For those who experienced the ad first-hand, the interactive element allowed them to experience the car crash whilst making them feel a sense of responsibility for the outcome. For the rest of us that simply saw the video online, it still had a powerful impact on our behaviour. It encouraged us to think and to regain an appropriate perspective on what’s more important; Reading a text? Or your life?

3. Using YouTube to promote the campaign- By documenting the strategy and posting it to YouTube, VW’s message to ‘Keep your eyes on the road’ was able to reach a much larger audience. The campaign has experienced great success. 4 days after the video was posted on YouTube on the 6/6/14 it had already acquired more than 5.4 million views. Since then, these views have continued to grow with a current total of  28,998,812. Additionally, links to the video are being shared at an astounding rate through social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook and the campaign has sparked great interest from media outlets.

Another strategy which VW implemented as part of their ‘Safe Driving’ campaign was “A Crash Course to Shine,” which focused on the dangers of applying make-up whilst driving. For this campaign, Volkswagen teamed up with YouTube celebrity Nikki. Nikki is renowned for her makeup tutorials on YouTube and has a large following of 588,747 subscribers. Take a look at VW’s “A Crash Course to Shine” in the video below:

Through utilising Nikki, VW were able to ensure they were targeting a relevant audience. Ultimately, all of Nikki’s followers take a great interest in make-up and are therefore more likely to apply make-up whilst driving. Again, what i like most about this video is its unsuspecting nature (it appears this was a common theme through VW’s campaign). Everything seems so normal at the beginning, that regular visitors wouldn’t suspect a thing. As a result of this, the ‘crash scene’ has a greater impact and level of intensity, making viewers think twice about the potential dangers of applying make-up whilst driving.

Additionally, it is appropriate to assume that the people who follow Nikki have formed a liking towards her. Thus, when they witness Nikki, someone they share a more personal relationship with, in the ‘crash scene,’ it’s likely to spark a greater level of concern. Overall, the video has gained a substantial 1,638,675 views since being uploaded  to YouTube on 5/4/12.

I know what you must be thinking, how does this benefit VW when they’re not even selling anything?

At no point throughout this campaign are any safety related features of Volkswagen vehicles mentioned. In fact all that links VW to this campaign is its trademarked font, and their iconic brand logo. Indeed, this is a smart move by Volkswagen.The campaign doesn’t try to prove that VW is better than competitors, it simply communicates to society that they care about drivers and crash prevention. As a result, a link between safety and VW is strongly formed in consumers minds and this is likely to have positive repercussions for the brand in the future.

Do you feel that VW’s campaign was effective in communicating its message? How does the campaign alter your view of VW as a brand?

Reference List 

(1) Statistics on mobiles and driving sourced from https://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cause-of-accident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html

(2) Volkswagen’s print ads sourced from http://www.brandingmagazine.com/2013/07/04/texting-while-driving-volkswagen/

(3) “Eyes On The Road” video sourced from YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7Nh7IAIOVA

(4) Public response to “Eyes On The Road” video sourced from https://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=JHixeIr_6BM

(5)  “A Crash Course to Shine” video sourced from YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMFqSjjnte0