Win a Volkswagen Polo through #Polotag

Volkswagen cars. We’ve all seen them, we’ve all heard of them but not all of us own one.

Just this year, Volkswagen came up with a newer version of Volkswagen Polo. On the outside, it hadn’t changed as much. But on the inside, there was a drastic change. With that, Volkswagen wanted people to test drive the car so as to experience the new interior and the overall car. However, we all know regular test drives are boring and dull. So Volkswagen South Africa came up with a social media game that would amp up boring old test drives.

This campaign revolved around the Volkswagen Polo in which consumers were not only given the opportunity to test drive the car but were actually given a chance to win the car! It was implemented in the 3 major cities of South Africa ; Cape Town, Dunbar and Johannesburg.

What did they have to do to win?

It was simple. It only involved 4 steps. All of which could be found on the website dedicated to this campaign

http://www.polotag.co.za/how

Step 1: Spot it

The car would be driven along a designated route making it relatively easy to spot and find the car. Hints were given through social media on the whereabouts of the car and you could even track the car online on real-time.

Step 2: Tweet it

Once you’ve spotted the car, you would have to quickly tweet #PoloTag to @VolkswagenSA in order to become ‘IT’. If you are lucky, @VolkswagenSA will tweet you back ‘#AlmostIT’ updating you if you were selected. If you were selected, you are just one step closing to winning the car.

Step 3: Drive it

After being selected and finding the car in time, you simply have to drive it. Sound easy? Yes it does. So, of course, there is a catch. Once you start your drive, you will be officially timed. The aim is to drive the car for longest time without having to be spotted by another person. However, if you were spotted, and the person successfully tweeted it to @VolkswagenSA, it means you would have to stop driving. If the person manages to find the car in time, your drive is officially over. But if they do not, you get to continue your drive and are still in the running of winning the car.

Step 4: Win it

Every drive will be timed and the 10 longest drives will be put in a draw to win the car. From there, a winner would be chosen.

This campaign was highly successful as it turned a boring, old test drive into something creative and innovative. It brought out the competitive side of the consumer but still maintained the campaign to be friendly competition. In just 1 month, Volkswagen was able to generate R6.1 million in PR.  Over 27 million people were exposed to the campaign which meant a massive increase in brand and product awareness. The hashtag #PoloTag was trending on twitter. And lastly, Volkswagen experienced a 243% increase in test drives.

I would say this was a great campaign as it was innovative and definitely succeeded in interacting with their consumers  by giving them a purpose.  This is what, as a marketer, is crucial to understand and always bear in mind. It is that, one way to always entice consumers, is to let them experience your product first hand. It is all about consumers creating an experience with your brand, in which can turn into a loyal relationship if it was a great experience. It is no longer about just showcasing your product in an ad and expecting them to be encouraged to buy your product. If the opportunity permits, I would say consumers physically interacting with the product is the way to go.