Volvo has always taken safety seriously. They invented the three-point seat belt in 1959 and then opened up the patent so that any car manufacturer could use it. Now they’re giving away a product – Volvo LifePaint - to take safety beyond its cars and protect the most vulnerable road users.

Their safety system, Intellisafe, comes as standard in every new Volvo. Its cyclist and pedestrian detection prevents crashes from happening.

Every year more than 19.000 cyclists are seriously injured on UK roads. Cycle safety is an issue that the media and consumers care deeply about. While there are many cycle safety products on the market, we spotted a gap for a cheap, simple and high effective product that would also further Volvo’s safety message.

We launched “Volvo LifePaint” - a spray-on reflective paint for clothes, bikes and accessories - invisible in daylight, which stands out in headlights at night. We partnered with six of the most influential bike shops in London with an initial supply of 2000 free cans and a website for capturing people’s interest.

With ZERO media or seeding budget, we sold the story into the most influential and widely read titles internationally across cycling, innovation, design and news and used them to generate hype and fuel the conversation.

4.5m+ views. 130m+ impressions on Twitter. Someone registered on the website every 30 seconds. Worldwide press coverage included; ABC News, TIME Magazine, Mashable, Wired, Buzzfeed, The Times, USA Today, The Sydney Morning Herald, La Repubblica…the list goes on.

The creative team identified a partnership with Albedo 100 product as a way of using the visibility property of the paint to highlight the cyclist's lack of visibility to other road users. The design team then worked on the can design to create a simple, visual can manifestation that in itself would be highly visible in a store and reflect Volvo/Scandinavian design principles. Working with 6 core London bike shops we honed the design to work in busy bike environment and stand out from the other products competing for shelf space/attention. Testing then with the aerosol manufacturer and label application led us to final versions for the Counter Top Units, that worked within the Volvo brand/design guidelines.

- 4.5m+ people have watched the film on YouTube – with NO paid media or seeding budget.

- The majority being 25-44-year-old males – Volvo’s desired target audience.

- 130m+ impressions on Twitter within 20 days - with NO paid media or seeding budget.

- On average, someone registered their details through the website to learn more about LifePaint every 30 seconds.

- Worldwide press coverage included, ABC News, TIME Magazine, Mashable, Wired, Buzzfeed, The Telegraph, USA Today, The Sydney Morning Herald.

- Some cans of LifePaint even made their way onto eBay, being sold for more than £240 each.