Alter consumers' misperceptions pertaining to New Beetle’s practicality (i.e. safety, space, price) through media placement in relevant environments Increase New Beetle sales (immediately!) through reaching new potential customers and those who needed education on the car’s practical benefitsCreate the viral perception of newsworthiness surrounding the re-launch of the New Beetle, "Round For a Reason" campaign A multimedia platform was created to raise awareness of the New Beetle, highlighting the functional qualities of the car, of which, consumers harbored misperceptions. Consumers were targeted with messages highlighting the New Beetle’s safety and space advantages through a mix of media: national newspaper, newsweeklies, magazines, network television, college postcards, and online sponsorships.Through strategic media placement in USA Today Newspaper and Newsweek Magazine, we were able to immediately reach a national audience and create the perception of newsworthiness surrounding this campaign. To further extend the target audience and broaden New Beetle’s appeal, magazines like Real Simple, SmartMoney, and This Old House, with their emphasis on practicality, were added to the national print plan to showcase Volkswagen’s information-rich yet, quirky creative message.Network and cable television were utilized to target “real-time,” drama programming genres that would compliment the documentary-style approach of the broadcast message (i.e. Law & Order, CSI, X-Files, Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, Travel Channel). “Safety” and “space” spots were book-ended to concurrently impact viewers with this messaging in a “one-two-punch”.

To further augment the campaign and breed awareness among a younger audience, 150,000 postcards were distributed on college campuses nationwide. This effort created an entertaining and engaging way to convey "Round for a Reason", while also generating “buzz” via the viral message pass along.Online media served to invite consumers to interact with the New Beetle and ultimately, the Volkswagen Brand. The most successful viral sponsorship was with Emode.com, where 630,000 visitors took a survey to figure out “What Kind of New Beetle Are You?”, and then were encouraged to invite friends to take the test and go to VW.com to configure a New Beetle.Magazines and television networks were leveraged with their online counterparts to build media synergies and generate cost efficiencies. As a result, consumers were reached at all points of the purchase consideration process with these integrated messages and one-to-one dialogues were achieved with in-market buyers to overcome their misperceptions of the New Beetle.The rational, yet invitational media approach of the campaign expanded reach of the Volkswagen target without compromising the integrity of the core Brand. The campaign produced great "buzz" and resurrected New Beetle sales. The “no news” re-launch generated publicity that brought the campaign into the national spotlight: The New York Times, NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and national trade and consumer publications. The Volkswagen Media Team built and executed a fully integrated plan on the basis of making “news” out of “no news”. The New Beetle was now four years old without any significant model updates. Media was challenged to help reposition this iconic car from a purely emotional to a rational purchase and to ultimately re-ignite New Beetle sales. A completely fresh and imaginative blend of media environments had to be utilized to re-launch the New Beetle’s "Round For a Reason" (RFAR) campaign. In order to address the practical qualities of the vehicle, specific information driven media environments were selected to convey and allude to the newsworthiness of the campaign. From a budget perspective, Media was given only 3% of the total budget to support a model that represented 20% of Volkswagen’s overall sales! Media was not merely selected as a vehicle to carry the campaign message, but instead Media became the message. By being highly selective in choosing rational environments, the information-rich RFAR campaign was elevated to a stature of newsworthiness. Consumers were reached in places where credible and authoritative information was sought out and delivered. Traditionally, New Beetle’s advertising capitalized purely on its emotional appeal. The car essentially sold itself as “must-have” consumers naturally gravitated to it. With sales cooling, we realized consumers needed more rational ammunition for making the New Beetle purchase. The decision to shift from an emotional to a rational positioning required taking a risky departure from traditional Brand VW media outlets. Yet, Media recommended the right mix of message platforms to strike the delicate balance of consumer education and brand fun.

The “Round For a Reason” campaign proved that a brand’s attributes can be repositioned and heightened in consumers’ mind through the appropriate selection of media… and move sales! The campaign’s success is credited to Media’s ability to extend the reach into new segments of the New Beetle consumer base, while remaining true to the essence of the Volkswagen Brand.

The Volkswagen Media Team built and executed a fully integrated plan on the basis of making “news” out of “no news”. The New Beetle was now four years old without any significant model updates. Media was challenged to help reposition this iconic car from a purely emotional to a rational purchase and to ultimately re-ignite New Beetle sales. A completely fresh and imaginative blend of media environments had to be utilized to re-launch the New Beetle’s "Round For a Reason" (RFAR) campaign. In order to address the practical qualities of the vehicle, specific information driven media environments were selected to convey and allude to the newsworthiness of the campaign. From a budget perspective, Media was given only 3% of the total budget to support a model that represented 20% of Volkswagen’s overall sales!