Selling cars for Volvo is less about features and more about membership of an exclusive club where you don’t necessarily have to own a vehicle.
Welcome to the VolvoVerse and the local arms vision for the Australian market.
Advertising spending by the automotive sector in Australia has come back strongly following pandemic-induced supply chain issues.
The latest SMI (Standard Media Index) numbers show automotive up 9.6% in August compared to the same month last year.
Volvo’s car Australia managing director Stephen Connor says the pandemic was a storm, creating a shortage of parts and logistics issues.
“Most of the industry is back to what we would classify as normal,” Connor told AdNews.
Volvo, which recently announced it would be all electric by 2026, is finding ways to give back on a local level in Australia, to be climate positive.
Volvo is known locally for its 2018 project, Living Seawall, in Sydney Harbour with the installation of tiles that mimic the root structure of mangroves.
Created using 3D printing and made from concrete reinforced with recycled plastic fibres, the tiles encourage marine life such as oysters and fish to form habitats and thrive in the harbour, which has become increasingly polluted by plastic.
“We helped repurpose and regenerate sea life in the harbour, albeit on a small level,” says Connor.
“Globally, they're doing a great job. I think our new (electric small SUV) EX30 at its end of life is designed to be recovered to 95% per cent, by recycling the materials and recovering energy from what can’t be recovered.
“What I can do on a local level is affect what we do, how we operate, and how we give back to the community here.
“We don't get paid any more money to do that. We do that out of our own budgets, because, again, authenticity, we want to be part of the solution.”
Consumers want to be part of a company -- and it doesn't matter what they buy -- that is authentic, says Connor.
“What I mean by that is that they want to be with somebody that stands and lives by their own values,” he says.
“My daughter is 12 and at school they talk about sustainability in their class all the time. They live and breathe it.
“They're actually having an influence on what we buy, when we buy, who we choose to partner up with.
“On a personal level, this is a lot more fun than just selling dirty old cars.”
Lee Simpson, CEO of whiteGREY, Volvo’s local creative agency, says there's also a competitive advantage.
“There is an opportunity to break ranks from competitors,” says Simpson “If you move more quickly, that puts pressure on other players.”
“A lot of the work that we're doing at the moment is around the five year plan.
“So if you're going to be all electric by 2026, that's just really one part of the journey. What we've been doing collectively with Volvo is helping to write that five year business strategy.
“We start to change the relationship. You're not going for a one off transaction, necessarily, but start to build a long term relationship with consumers such as memberships.
“Marketing is more of a mix approach. It isn't just going out there and telling people about being all electric, it's about changing the experience to allow more people to access a Volvo in a usership model.
“So that's the bigger project we're working on at the moment, and hopefully more ambitious.”
Connor says it's more about becoming a member of the brand.
“As we go forward, some people don't want to own a car, they just want to use it. In the New World. They subscribe to Volvo. And they have a Volvo Uber and if they want to drive up the Hunter Valley, a Volvo ends up on their door. Part of their membership.
“So it becomes more about the brand. And we provide a brand service.”
Simpson says the brand story is broader than just sustainability alone.
“If you look at the purpose of the organisation, it's for life, but it's around giving people the freedom to move in a personal, safe and sustainable way.
“Sustainability is obviously a core part of it. But this is a brand that's built heritage on an equity with safety.
“And I think the original sort of view on that, and it's the view that the business still holds today is that cars are driven by people.
“And therefore the principle that should guide the organisation should always be safety.
“Yes, sustainability is a core part of what we're doing but the brand also has a view on what personal means and what safety means.
“We do see in other categories doing that. Fashion is a great example, when you start blending different elements of a brand together, you can motivate people with style, which is one of the primary drivers while also being sustainable.
“And I think Volvo safety is always going to play a part in that as much as sustainability. So we make sure to capture that, because it's pretty crucial to brand
Connnor says the product is just one part of it
“It isn't about the product anymore, because they're going to be fantastic no matter what they look like. It's about the people that drive them. It's even if the car stops a crash. And that in itself is saving that person who's potentially going to hit them.
“So it's more holistic around people than it is around the product balance. Which is exciting for us.
“No other brand is doing this as well. We've moved a long way from focusing on the product to focus on consumers who drive our product.”
SImpson was reading a survey that was talking about how 80% of Australian consumers want to be able to make more sustainable choices.
But there is a gap between what people say they believe and what they do.
“There's still a behaviour change that has to happen in every brand and every market,” he says.
“And the creative industries have had a history of behaviour change, getting people to vote or buy or save or drink less or donate.
“There's theories and practices that we use every day to play that behaviour change.
“And as we move towards more sustainable choices, the desire is there and as a creative agency we need to help that behaviour change.”
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