Volkswagen are on a mission to increase the size of their business in Australia, however to do that they needed to address a fundamental problem with the brand that was impeding their ability to grow: 91% brand awareness converted into less than 7% of people seriously considering buying one. We discovered that the huge drop from awareness to consideration came from misperception. People remembered the quirky ‘Bugs’ and the ‘Kombis’ from the 60s and 70s, but didn’t know how good the modern cars had become. As one dealer put it in research - “When people come in and ask whether the ‘engines are still in the boot’ I just feel gutted”.We needed a new approach. Years of ‘model’ advertising announcing the latest and greatest cars just hadn’t erased this barrier hardwired into consumer’s minds. With this in mind we decided to try a radical new model for Volkswagen – brand advertising. A bold move and significant investment that aimed to reduce this sales limiting drop between brand awareness and brand consideration, and set perceptions right.But what do you make a Volkswagen brand campaign about and would it make the difference? We found a product truth in the experience of owning one of these cars that led to a differentiating idea for the brand. It is that the benefit of a Volkswagen is not apparent to the uninitiated, and lost amongst the hype and hoopla, claim and over claim in the ultra competitive car advertising market. It only comes to life when you drive one yourself. It is really the experience of owning this quality German engineering that sets it apart. We expressed this strategically as: ‘Volkswagens are better experienced than explained’.This platform gave us a surprising and differentiated way to showcase the technology and range of the products in a way that truly resonated with consumers, enabling them to get past their barriers and see the cars as relevant to themselves and their families through a campaign called “The Germans have a word for it”.Brand consideration jumped by 40% post campaign and improved the company’s ROI from marketing. It also enabled the brand to buck the market and grow sales by 18% year on year.