To showcase the brand’s fuel efficiency, Volvo Trucks has launched an iPad game and an accompanying online scavenger hunt for U.S. participants.
“Fuel efficiency and innovation are part of Volvo’s DNA,” said Magnus Koeck, Volvo Trucks vice president, marketing and brand management. “The Fueldrop game and online scavenger hunt share our heritage in a way that members of the trucking industry and the motoring public alike can enjoy and appreciate.”
The object of the mobile game is to make the most out of every drop of fuel throughout each level. Volvo Trucks engineers contributed their expertise to help integrate engine-inspired components and incorporate hot, cold and wet elements, all of which pose real-life challenges to engines.
The scavenger hunt and app launched in December. Within the Fueldrop game are clues, which the player can use to find additional clues embedded within Volvo Trucks’ Facebook page, Twitter feed, U.S. website, videos, ads and issues of Driver’s Digest, Volvo Trucks’ North American customer magazine. Every two weeks over a 16 week period, a participant who has found the clues needed to complete a phrase will be randomly drawn to receive an iPad.
The Volvo Group manufactures trucks, buses and construction equipment, and drive systems for marine and industrial applications. In 2011, annual sales of the Volvo Group amounted to nearly $47.8 billion. Larger Volvo Truck customers have fleets of up to 250,000 vehicles. In this particular campaign, the company sought to reach smaller customers who might buy one to 100 trucks, and often start their purchasing process by visiting a dealership.
The Fueldrop game started life as part of a larger road show campaign that began in March of 2012, notes Niclas Hermansson, digital marketing manager. A mobile exhibit housed in a trailer visited 26 dealers in the U.S. and Canada, showcasing Volvo Trucks technology, safety, fuel efficiency and driver environment.
“The game takes place in a car engine, to showcase our message of fuel efficiency,” says Koeck. “We wanted a game concept that was innovative and would get people to spend time with our brand in a way that added value, as well as entertainment.”
More than half of Volvo’s customers travel with laptops when they are on the road, making an online interactive game an ideal way to reach that audience. “As society changes, Volvo has to adapt their communications to reach the next generation of drivers and truck buyers,” Koeck notes.
“The campaign is definitely it’s about awareness, and maybe a little more fun ‘infotainment’ about our brand,” says Koeck, noting that while Volvo Trucks will be collecting customer information during the campaign, whether they use it for future marketing hasn’t yet been determined. “We’ll examine who [the game participants are], whether than are Volvo Truck drives already or not, and make sure we send them the right messages.”
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