Volvo Launches Interactive Super Bowl Social Media Campaign: #VolvoSafety Sunday

By Laura DiCaprio

Swedish car company Volvo created an interactive campaign to reach consumers on Super Bowl Sunday.

It’s widely known that television commercials that air during the annual game are pricey. FOX is reportedly selling national :30 second commercials for approximately $5 – $5.6MM this year, with ads running before and after the game ranging from $2-$3MM.

Volvo’s solution still reaches the Super Bowl audience, but with a fraction of the media cost.

Volvo, a brand that prides itself on its safety features, is promoting a #VolvoSafety Sunday campaign via social media. Between now and the big game, Super Bowl fans are encouraged to go to VolvoSafetySunday.com to build their dream car. Once complete, fans submit their car to Volvo along with their contact information. If a safety occurs during the Super Bowl game, Volvo will randomly select winners from the entrants, giving away up to $1MM worth of free cars.

The #VolvoSafety Sunday campaign is clever for a few different reasons:

·         Safeties are rare – They occur in around 1 out of 20 NFL games. The odds are low that Volvo will have to follow through with their $1MM give away.

·         Even if a safety occurs and Volvo gives away $1MM worth of new cars, it’s still cheaper than the cost of an average :30 Super Bowl commercial.

·         Volvo is building its user database by requiring people to submit their contact information along with the car submissions. This provides an entirely new audience to target with custom messages.

As media buyers, we often have to work with smaller-than-desired budgets. Volvo’s campaign is a stellar example of how defined audiences can be reached in alternative ways, while still delivering a successful campaign performance.