Volvo Promo Most Successful Ever; Site Gets 18 Million Hits

Volvo Cars of North America said that last month's introduction of its new SUV and a sweepstakes tie-in that dangled a flight into outer space has become the most successful integrated product launch in company history.

The Volvo XC90 launch was out of this world

The GoBoldly campaign was launched Feb. 6 during Volvo's first-ever Super Bowl spot. The automaker unveiled the Volvo XC90 V8 by comparing its power to a rocket blasting into space. The sweepstakes was mentioned and a URL drove people to a Web site to enter. Near the commercial's end, the ship's pilot revealed himself as billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, founder and chairman of The Virgin Group of Cos.

According to Volvo, 135,000 aspiring astronauts registered for the chance to win a seat aboard Virgin Galactic's first commercial space flight, even though Branson's space tourism company may not be in the air until 2007. Of the 135,000 who entered the sweeps, 60,000 requested more information on Volvo products. The company said it received 1,000 pre-orders for the SUV since the launch date.

Volvo estimates the advertising equivalency for press coverage the sweepstakes received was more than double its original investment in the Super Bowl ad. FOX sold in-game advertising for a reported $2.4 million per 30 seconds. The grand-prize winner will be announced Mar. 24.

The BoldlyGo campaign was supported with print, online and broadcast ads and p.r. initiatives that continued through the registration deadline Feb. 22. During this time, the site generated 18 million hits and 1.9 million unique visitors.