Volvo's Super Bowl Strategy: Listen to the Game, Watch Our Car

In 2015 consumers were encouraged to use Twitter during the Super Bowl and tell Volvo why someone they loved deserved a Volvoamp160 A lucky five evidently much loved got carsamp160 quotIt got people involved with the Volvo brand while competitive car ads were runningquot Jacobs saidamp160 This year Volvo owned by China39s Geely is again taking an idiosyncratic approach coinciding with the launch of the new S60 sedanamp160 The car will be the second Volvo after the XC40 to be offered through the company39s nationwide subscription service Care by VolvoWhen the Super Bowl kicks off February 3 at 6 pm ET consumers can go to S60LongestDrivecomamp160and get behind the wheel for a virtual rideamp160 The site will take them down the road on California39s highway 128To win the chance of a twoyear Care by Volvo subscription participants will have to stay engaged with the drive watching its progress down the road as long as possibleamp160 The three longest times win the subscriptionsamp160 It39s clearly an electronically enhanced version of the classic quottouch a truckquot promotions in which the spoils went to the person whose hand stayed in place the longestThe concept is not wildly originalamp160 Last year MercedesBenz passed on Super Bowl advertising and instead offered a game called Last Fan Standing in which wouldbe car owners had to keep their fingers on the picture of a car as it darted around their phone screenamp160 The winner would drive home in a 2018 MercedesAMG C 43 Coupeamp160 In the actual event Mercedes reported that the contest quotbroke the internetquot and a winner had to be picked by random lotteryThe analog version of these contests are still going strongamp160amp160Reports the Wall Street Journal quotSince the early 1980s handson contests have remained a fairly common promotional gimmick for car dealers and radio stations around the countryamp160 Most require that one hand and no other body part be kept flat on the vehiclequotIn Volvo39s version no hands are involvedamp160 It39s the eyeballs that matteramp160 Contestants will play on their mobile phones whose cameras will be the traffic cops guaranteeing that their eyes are on their virtual rideamp160 If they look away the cameras will record it and they39re out of the runningamp160 As long as the big game is still on they can start again and try for a better resultamp160 quotWe39re billing it as the world39s largest test drivequot Jacobs saidDon39t think you can fool the system by putting a picture of yourself in front of the camera it39s pretty smart and will detect the small movements that guarantee you39re a real personamp160 A Disneytype audioanimatronic head might work but would cost more to build than the Volvo subscription 750 a month for the S60 T6 AWD MomentumquotIt39s in our nature to do things that no one else doesquot Jacobs said noting that consumer media habits are changingamp160 quotA lot of people have phones computers and TVs on all at oncequotamp160 With Volvo39s game they can listen to the Super Bowl on their TVs or radios as long as they39re still driving that Volvo on their phonesVolvo is the only company to offer a nationwide subscription service most others are in selected statesamp160 quotIt39s going well consumer reaction has been extremely positiveamp160 People like that our offerings are very simple with only two trim levels and includes insurance and everything else except gasquotThe S60 will be added to the subscription service and subscribers will be able to switch between it and the XC40 at the end of 12 months in the programamp160 Making that move resets the clock for another two years of subscriptionVolvo by the way also opted out along with many European automakers of Detroit39s North American International Auto Show this year and doesn39t plan to reenter next year when the show moves to Juneamp160 quotWe have no plans to change our strategy with Detroitquot Jacobs saidClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Volvo's Super Bowl Strategy: Listen to the Game, Watch Our Car

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Jim Motavalli

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Volvo's Super Bowl Strategy: Listen to the Game, Watch Our Car

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