VW goes the extra mile

I wonder how many times that headline’s been used before?

Anyways, I was having a conversation with a fellow young go getter well into the morning last night. We are both interested in creating an advertising agency at some point down the road, and have different directions we’d like to take them.

That discussion triggered a memory of a campaign from last year for Volkswagen. For anyone that hasn’t seen the spots for VDubs Rock, they were offering a First Act guitar with the purchase of a new VW. The custom guitar was made to match your vehicle and you could connect the guitar to your car stereo and play it wherever you wish.

Until seeing some pictures on rm116 yesterday, I hadn’t seen any detailed pics or known of anyone personally that received one of the guitars.

Through a little more digging on Flickr I found quite a few pics that focus on the details of the guitar and the box it arrived in.

Near the end of the discussion I was having with that young go getter last night, I described my ideal agency as someone that finds the questions before they present answers, and steps away from traditional media to make the product and experience our main concern.

Looking at the details of the VDubs Rock campaign and the First Act guitar, CP+B (the agency behind the idea) did just that.

I think traditional advertising (print, television, radio) are a complete waste for small businesses, if they don’t hire a creative agency to handle them. Even with such an agency, its still hit or miss.

But when you invest in the product as opposed to a one-off commercial, you create a substantially positive quality for your company, and a long term association — something that lasts months or years, not 30 or 60 seconds.

Take a look at the details of this promotion and tell me you wouldn’t have been blown away if that arrived at your doorstep after purchasing a vehicle. They created something remarkable that puts you in the driver’s seat of marketing. As opposed to talking at you with an ad, they created an experience that you’ll talk about with everyone you know.

Simple humor doesn’t hurt

Step by step engagement

Instructions don’t have to sound like everyone else’s

Would you rather receive a branded laser pointer, or a branded guitar?

Consistency. This light is the same as the one in the dash of a VW

Its all in the details

Their icon on the headstock of the guitar

Your car’s VIN number is matched on the guitar. Made for one another

A trunk-badge you can easily attach to your vehicle to let everyone know you have the weaponry to rock

More instructions, for the single jointed folk

The guitar strap is the seatbelt VWs use

Each of the guitars would have only cost several hundred dollars to make. The ratio of that investment compared to the cost of acquisition through traditional media would be staggering. You can scale the insight behind the guitar promotion down to something that might only cost you a few more dollars per order. That attention to detail and “free prize inside” is what makes a company successful and work fun.