Launched on 13 June at the start of Euro 2020, UEFA partner Volkswagen’s (VW) integrated ‘Change The Game’ activation aims to promote the auto giant and its new electric ID brand.
The idea behind the activation is that just like this version of the Euros is moving fans in a new way, VW is committed to move everyone in a new way whilst simultaneously bringing fans closer to every game.
The campaign is led by a hero spot designed ‘for fans, for players, for drivers, for all those who change the game’, the campaign runs under both VW’s ‘‘We Drive Football’ platform and its electric-led ‘Way To Zero’ brand strategy.
The multi-channel content all aims to drive viewers online to find out more about the new ID3 and ID 4 at https://volkswagen.com/id.
Conceived by creative agency DDB Voltage and produced by Soup Film, the spearhead spot seeks to capture the excitement of the tournament through a balanced approach which combines aesthetic and humour, blends light and dark, includes a cast which reflects contemporary society and offers a rhythmic connection between sound and imagery which sees the car form a nature anchor to a spot which adopts a style that reflects a football match highlights montage.
The multi-channel campaign spans television 9as well as the commercial, the brand is also sponsoring the broadcast coverage of the tournament in several major European markets), VOD, OOH, print digital, social, in-dealership and in-stadium strands.
The latter includes the branded remote-controlled VW ID cars which deliver the adidas game ball onto the pitch. This may now be a familiar sports event sponsor activation tactic (remember those minis at London 2012), but it still seems that social media can’t get enough of the toy cars.
VW trended on Twitter before kick-off as fans marvelled at the toy car pre-match sponsor stunt and some fan posts even suggested that Andrea Bocelli singing the iconic operatic football anthem Nessun Dorma ahead of kick-off had to play second fiddle to the German car company’s marketing stunt.
“The little remote control car that delivered the ball onto the pitch is my favourite moment of #EURO2020 so far and I don’t think it will be topped.”
“Just watch that little car take out one of ours on Sunday! #ENG #EURO2020”
“I’m dead at this little car driving the football to kick off!” commented another.
England Women’s international Lianne Sanderson posted: “Am I the only one that wants that little car that brought out the ball?”
The auto giant is also running a digitally-driven pan-European promotion called the ‘The UEFA EURO 2020Volkswagen ID Event’ offering £1,000 off the all-electric ID.3 for those who book a test drive during the tournament (between 11 June and 11 July).
The ‘Change The Game’ campaign was created by agency DDB Voltage.
The hero spot was helmed by Director Cedric Dubourg with DOP Cedric Schanze, Executive Producer Ada Zuiderhoek and Producer Jana Melzer, with casting handled by the DeeBeePhunk talent agency.
Comment:
It was back in 2017 that VW signed a four-year primary sponsorship deal with UEFA as the tournament’s official mobility partner (replacing previous incumbent Hyundai just as it had replaced German premium rival Mercedes-Benz as the lead sponsor of the German national team).
With Europe’s biggest international football tournament delayed by a year, UEFA partner VW has extracted a little extra out of its tournament rights arrangement in terms of benefiting from an extra 12 months of the deal and also from additional real estate.
This might provide good value, despite the complications and reduced in stadiuym fan numbers due to pandemic restrictions: after all, Euro 2020 is estimated to have a global audience of two billion.
The Activative team feels that the lead ad forms a fairly natural brand/product/property blend which doesn’t thrust football, logos or even the car down the viewers’ throat.
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