Volvo leaps into Facebook age

Posted on | November 15, 2009 | No Comments

At a time when Facebook is already a favorite hangaround for the young and influential, Volvo has discovered a nifty way to gain attention for its recently updated S60, which will be unveiled next year in Geneva. The company hired a known artist to paint the car and recently published the piece. The interesting thing is that the artist, Esref Armagan had never seen the car as he’s been blind since birth.

On a well-made video on Volvo’s Facebook page we see Esref working with the car, showing small details of the car in numerous close-ups as the painters hands glide on the surface. The campaign has also a participatory perspective in accord with the times: Volvophiles could ask the painter to paint specific parts of the car, which were made into their own videos. The end result is a compilation of small parts of the whole that are quite good at rising expectations and inspiring your imagination. At least my interest got aroused.

Of course Volvo also relies on more traditional PR, taking the story to editors of magazines to build awareness (I read about this from Wired). However, the story wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting without a very creative approach that inspires a discussion (the blind artist) and a modern approach to utilizing the communications system (Facebook and people’s requests of which details they want to see) that preceded the magazine articles. On the age of speed and networks PR and marketing are ever more frequently leaping into each others’ territories and we as marketers and communicators need to appreciate this convergence.

My colleague Riku recently argued that in the future there are only two forms of marketing, on the other hand there are cool extravagant events, and on the other a rigorous system run and maintained by robots. I kinda agree but would like to make a further note. In more and more of effective marketing, we constantly need both: First we need creative ideas that are compelling and don’t fit into any of the boxes we so often like to draw around them. Second, we need a network, a system that we use to communicate our idea. And although there are communicators of our idea external from us in this system, it doesn’t mean that we couldn’t proactively plan and manage this participation – it just needs some scenario planning and reactive processes alongside one-way communications design. This creates the ability for us to react in timely and effective way to all developments, planned or unplanned, as they unfold.

Now ask yourself: do you still do press releases or are you already an active member of the network?

UPDATE: seems the S60 can now already be seen in full as well.

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