Volkswagen fires off its first branding campaign

The move follows the company’s decision to take ownership of its previously franchised Hong Kong business and to open a prominent new showroom.

Competing primarily with Toyota, VW is aiming to raise its share of the Hong Kong and Macau market from 15 to 20 per cent over the coming four years.

Paul Hu, head of marketing for VW China, explained that while the brand was widely recognised across northern and eastern China, lack of investment in recent years meant that it lagged behind Toyota and fellow German brands, such as BMW and Mercedes in terms of consumer awareness in Hong Kong and southern China.

Hu said Hong Kong’s “trendsetting” status would allow Volkswagen to “radiate influence back into the Pearl River Delta”.

Developed by DDB Hong Kong and MediaCom, the integrated push draws on the brand’s German heritage and tradition as being a ‘people’s car’ to promote it as a high quality product, while aiming to position it apart from other German car brands and emphasise its accessibility to a wider audience.“We wanted to get back to the fundamentals of the brand,” Hu said, adding that VW was planning to significantly expand its product offering in Hong Kong by the end of next year.

The TV spot, shot on location in Hong Kong, shows a crowd surround a VW Passat at a traffic light.
To the driver’s bewilderment, members of the crowd begin to lovingly clean his car.

A woman proceeds to open the door and kiss the driver’s cheek. The scene ends with the line: ‘Engineered by Germans. Loved by everyone’.

Complementing the commercial are a series of print and poster ads featuring various models from the VW range inspiring special treatment from those around them, and an interactive site incorporating games, online driving and product information. Hu said the campaign was designed to appeal to a broad range of consumers - from conventional buyers motivated by practicality and reliability, to young urban professionals and status aware “cosmopolitan elites” - through entertainment and engagement.

“Hong Kong is a very mature market,” he said.

“You can’t just put a car in a magazine and describe its features. You need to create an interesting story and interaction.”