CHRIS WILLO
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Europe - China - Korea
Volkswagen
大众
我ID
Awards:Silver & Bronze @ Effies
Bronze @ NY Festivals
Gold, Silver & Bronze @ China Intl Fest
Silver & Bronze @ 中国4A奖
Background:
In 2020, Volkswagen globally launched ID., a new fleet of all-electric vehicles.
But in China, VW’s biggest market, foreign brands who don’t adapt, don’t make it very far.
In this highly nationalistic market, Volkswagen needed to prove its ID. cars are still made in ever-reliable VW factories, without bluntly copy-pasting its global marketing approach.
Insight:
Chinese NEV buyers are younger than the previous generation of petrol car owners.
They are hyper-individual who want to express their own unique identities and improve their own lives. Above everything else, they do not believe in the overpromising brands who claim they can change the world. Yet, they expect foreign brands to respect the local culture.
Idea:
Volkswagen presents “我ID.” – The Chinese Makeover.
Adapting the global ID. logo into a Chinese Gen Z emblem of empowerment.
Execution:
First things first, we analyzed the global ID. logo and broke it down into individual strokes.
Then, we did the same with the most commonly used character in the Chinese alphabet: “我” (me).
By combining both, we seamlessly blended East & West to create a whole new language,
and wrote a generational slogan with just two characters: 我ID。(wo ID / my identity).
The new 我ID. emblem embedded itself into Gen Z culture, spread by countless art creators & social media influencers. One of Gen Z’s rising stars, rapper Tai Yi, even made a whole anthem song called “It Starts With Me”.
Cleverly designed for social, the 我ID. emblem was then used in all ID. communication materials and marketing activities for the last 2 years, completely replacing the global ID. logo.
Results:
The campaign over-achieved on KPI goals and generated substantially higher social buzz for the entire VW brand. With 14.35million unique visitors, the ID. brand website saw the highest traffic during our campaign period, compared to major NEV competitors.
More importantly, Gen Z polling indicated 74% positive sentiment towards VW, up from 43% the previous year.
Thanks to the 我ID. campaign, Volkswagen China captured this Gen Z audience & their desire to be individualistic, enabling both the VW brand and its fans to stand out from the crowd.
Samsung
Galaxy
Fold
Background:
In 2018, the Samsung Galaxy Fold changed the way we look at phones.
The first ever folding phone (from a reputable brand, that is) to make it to the mainstream.
Insight:
By using the “fold/unfold” as a thematic context, we built the teaser film as a sort of butterly experience. Of course, having that iconic song helps, but with the help of the flexible spine of the Fold, we were able to shoot something that was far superior to a traditional product video.
Execution:
Our team worked on both the teaser and introduction video to educate potential customers on how this new ground-breaking device could fit into their lives.
众UX
The VW
People’s Car
Awards:
1x Silver & 2x Bronze @ Effies
Silver @ China Intl Award Festival
Shortlist @ Cannes
Silver & Bronze @ 中国4A奖
Background:
Volkswagen is the world’s largest car brand, but virtually all its business decisions are made from its HQ in Wolfsburg, Germany.
For China, VW’s biggest market, we needed a different approach to keep VW’s brand reputation top of mind, where it was perceived as a car for your dad’s generation.
Insight:
Volkswagen has always been the “People’s Car”.
So when it announced the development of a new prototype, shouldn’t we include the opinions and preferences of its largest consumer base?
Idea:
Volkswagen presents “The People’s Prototype”
The first-ever prototype, not imported from Germany, but made in China, for China.
Execution:
First, we needed to develop a ground-breaking new research tool to include our young Gen Z target audience. So we collaborated with MangoTV, China’s leading Gen Z TV channel, to produce a 5-part interactive TV series. Cleverly disguised as a love/drama story, each episode presented the viewer with carefully curated popup questions that affected the continuation of the story. These interactive options varied from storyline outcomes, lifestyle choices, vehicle features… all naturally incorporated into the overall story of the show.
This enabled us to compile an enormous amount of big data about the consumer’s preferences, specifically tailored to the Chinese market. We then turned this data into reality, by partnering with 3 leading Chinese tech startups & local manufacturers to build the prototype of a new generation and unveiled it one of the largest tech conventions in China.
Results:
It drove Volkswagen China’s biggest PR buzz in years, with over 180 million viewers participating in the show, over 42 million viewer decisions across the 5-part interactive show, and a massive brand likeability spike from 43% to 78%
Making this Volkswagen’s most successful engagement campaign, to once again become the people’s car for a whole new generation.
大G
The first-ever
Electric G
Background:
The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, an icon of rugged luxury since 1979, has long symbolized durability and prestige. As the world shifted toward electrification, the challenge was to adapt this legendary SUV for a sustainable future without losing its essence.
Insight:
Leading up to the world premiere, we decided to focus on a social-first approach. Benz has always been a “meme-worthy” brand, so we embraced the internet and went all-in on the hype.
Idea:
The Electric G has a trick up its sleeve.
Benz calls it differential locking, meme artists call it the G-Spin. So we went with that and turned internet slang into official Benz communication.
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