ŠKODA launched “The Stagecoach of the Desert Cowboys,” a free transportation service to connect the desert's communities with the closest urban area, Tabernas. With this modern stagecoach—in service for a minimum of two years—the brand offered a transport solution to the residents, allowing them to have access to the services that up until now had been unavailable to them. The goal: preserving the communities of the desert, making daily life easier, and preventing people from feeling forced to leave.

The car used for the service is the Kodiaq, the brand's first SUV. The coach’s route includes four towns, three times a week, with a morning and afternoon schedule.

The generation of content starring the desert’s residents and the publicizing of the service was also intended to bring visibility to the problem and promote the region as a film location, fostering its economic revitalization.

To publicize the service’s route and schedule, graphic material was placed in local towns, and a website was launched where users can also check the status of the service in real time and view ratings. To book a seat, residents just call a phone number, which is directly answered by the driver.

To raise awareness of the service and provide visibility for the issue, ŠKODA shot an on-site Western-themed advertisement starring local residents. The Western style helped reinforce the area’s importance as a film location.

To give residents a voice, a documentary of the Stagecoach’s first trip was broadcast on DMAX, as well as several interviews featuring residents.

In addition, to economically revitalize the area, the brand proposed involving film stars and promoting the desert's locations, sponsoring the Almería Western Film Festival and creating ad hoc content for media devoted to film.

By April 2018, 337 passengers had used the service, which enabled them to get to the closest urban area and easily perform activities such as shopping (80% of people), going to the doctor (80%) or visiting family (20%).

The Stagecoach has provided a job for the father of a family, who became its driver, and helped revitalize the area: the number of film shoots forecast for 2018 has increased 20%.

More than 200 media outlets talked about depopulation, reopening the discussion and, at the start of 2018, the government announced a new plan to combat the problem.

All of this generated earned media worth 1 million euros, brand awareness grew by 2.8%, and requests for the Kodiaq rose 97%.

150 villages at risk of depopulation have asked ŠKODA for help.