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http://www.mxdirect.co.uk/home/full_news.cfm?ID=454
Volvo ad uses top director
By Bill Britt
Volvo will reveal this month that a Hollywood director is behind an eight-minute internet film it is using to draw consumers into a one-to-one marketing drive to encourage test drives and brochure requests.
Unable to match the marketing budgets of rival premium brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Volvo's marketers in Gothenburg say they are experimenting with other forms of communications to make their budgets go further.
A TV and press campaign broke last month in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Spain. The teaser ads highlight 'The Mystery of Dalaro', a village in Sweden where 32 locals all bought the new Volvo S40 saloon on the same day. Normally the local Volvo dealer sells four cars a year.
The ad claims that Volvo commissioned filmmaker 'Carlos Soto' to go to Dalaro to shoot a documentary of the phenomenon, and directs consumers to www.volvocars.co.uk to view it. The film has the creepy feel of the The Blair Witch Project and it is unclear whether it is a hoax or not.
During March, Volvo will drip feed more clues about whether or not the film is true.
Meanwhile, surfers are encouraged to request a brochure, book a test drive, ask for a DVD of the film, or send a viral email of it to a friend.
"It's all about getting the consumer more intimately involved with the car and the brand," says Tim Ellis, global advertising director at Volvo. "We're using ATL media to drive people to the internet where we can create a more one-to-one experience."
The director of the film is not Carlos Soto, but Spike Jonze, who directed Being John Malkovich.
The ATL and BTL campaign was created by Amsterdam-based MVBMS Fuel Europe.
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