VW's Tiguan Ad Campaign Misses Social

It's not so counter intuitive to advertise for a car at a train station. Especially knowing that some trains may be delayed, although the delays are not as bad as they used to be.

I was recently at the Bologna train station and saw this ad right by the cafe' where I stopped for my morning espresso before catching the connecting train.

You can see to the left there the coffee shop, where the retro panel ads are. It made me stop and look -- from the corner of my eye it looked like the pavement was broken. There's construction going on just around the corner.

I did a double take and thought it interesting enough to snap a shot. After having a nice chat with the barista in the cafe' and downing the wonderful espresso, I walked a few meters to the tracks and found the companion ad.

Which comes out front, appropriately. The two ads where supported by a banner hanging at the end of the walkway with more information and call to action to reinforce the message.

But the most creative part of the advertainment experience where a series of flat screens that projected TV ads, many of them quite funny, on the sides of the walkway and by the track numbers in the under passage.

They were impossible to miss and provided something to watch as we were waiting for the train while staying out of the cold in the areas protected by the elements. I looked for more of the same idea at other train stations, I could not see any. Bologna is one of the busiest train stations in the country as any train going from North to South (and vice versa) and East to West goes through it.

I am used to ignoring ads, yet I saw these and looked around to see if there was more about the car. I found more information online. So it looks like a pre-announcement campaign, as the Tiguan will be available to test drive in spring and early summer of this year. Overall, the dynamic panels, static banners, and pavement installations worked well together. DDB in Milan created the TV ad, The Moving City.

I agree with the comment, I really like the music. Apparently it was composed by a band called Human.  Martina posted about a more interactive driving advergame used to launch the car in France. Some other ways in which Volkswagen has dripped the information on the Tiguan release:

• Car Scoop -- official photos and press release
• Edmunds -- first look, and exclusive spy video
• Consumer Guide -- review and prices
• Autoblog Green -- the official pictures from production (to note the comment about "what happened to the beautiful innovative sporty functional design gem from the concept?")
• Motor Trend -- exclusive first drive and road test

And you can see the sponsored links as I did my search. Volkswagen also set up a site where you can sign up and edit a personal road movie. It took a while for me to open and I did not try test it. Also once I was on that screen, there was no way to select from some of the other buttons for press conference or gallery, for example -- a one way street.

The entry of Wikipedia was among the first items to show up in my search. Many more results showed up as I searched for Tiguan images -- all seemed to be from official car publications. The only photo I saw on Flickr was apparently uploaded by someone who had been at the Helsinki motor show.

No social media campaign for Volkswagen Tiguan that I could find. It would have been interesting to see one including Flickr, YouTube, and other sites tying back to the official or main site. Maybe create a group on Flickr where people can share their photos and comment.

Comments

[Carolyn Ann]

It's difficult to generate "buzz" about a car, these days. It either has to be the Bugatti Veyron, a new surrealist sculpture from Maranello, or a Chevrolet Corvette variation, with a humongous engine. Kudos to VW for trying to out-BMW the Mini...

Well, maybe not.

I agree - there's a need for a social element to their campaign.

The simple VW ads of the original and new Beetle and the "you meet the nicest people on a Honda" (1960's era campaign for the Honda 50, a scooter) both [sic] involved the viewer - they started the idea, and let the person finish it. The new ad for the Tiguan isn't in that mold - it's telling us about the car, and that's it. There's no life-style statement (or, more likely, I missed it - totally), and as such, there's no place for social interaction.

I found it interesting that Motor Trend was the magazine for the "exclusive" - it's hardly the most exciting car magazine out there! I actually avoid it; its audience is more oriented to "Consumer Reports" than "Road and Track" and "Autosport". In other words, I can conclude that this awkward-sounding vehicle is a bit boring.

On a side note, have you seen the new Ford Focus ads? They tout the personal technology within the car, and state it's "powered by Microsoft". Except for the ad they ran in MacWorld magazine. That didn't make any mention of Microsoft...

Carolyn Ann

[mvellandi]

Cool car! Looks like my Toyota Matrix I recently got. I've noticed more car companies with hatchbacks that aren't mini SUVs.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Carolyn Ann -- I see the whole campaign focused on the product vs. putting it in context, the lifestyle piece. Even Martina in her review found it hard to interact with the interactive 3D site for the French launch. I talked about the Ford Focus social media ad in my "Not New, Not Even Improved" post when I was sharing examples of social media campaigns. That is so far the most complete I have seen.

@Mario -- it looked completely not compelling to me. How's the Matrix to drive? I test drove it and had a blind spot.

[Carolyn Ann]

No blind spot on a Royal Enfield or Ducati... No heater, either. :-) Brrr.

Carolyn Ann

[mvellandi]

I really like it; Wide visibility thru the front. In the back it was kind of hard to see, so I removed the rear headrests and it greatly improved.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Carolyn Ann -- you gave me a good laugh on a long day, thank you!

@Mario -- yes, the lack of visibility was in the back. the curvy way in which the car ends on the sides makes it really hard to see there. I'm not sure I like SUV/car hybrids. I do like energy hybrids.