The idea was to let the products do the talking themselves. In real life. Why? Because if once you experience the incredible effect of e-mobility on big city life there is no question left as to whether this is the way to go. Also this was a chance for Volkswagen to claim something beyond a pure efficiency story. Something people recognize immediately: The quietness they all miss in the city and they all eagerly seek out when leaving for the countryside. Making people discover this directly is the most persuasive approach one can take. No tricks. No filter. Virtually no advertising. Just truth in a real environment.

We flooded a roundabout in Hannover with Volkswagen e-vehicles and hybrids. With every car entering the roundabout the location got less noisy. At the moment when the traffic noise was gone, a children’s choir performed the world famous Depeche Mode song „Enjoy the silence“. Hundreds of excited pedestrians experienced live what a future with electric cars could feel like, or rather, sound like. Precisely timed, we unrolled a huge banner with our message. The live event was filmed and published as an online film, filled with emotion. At the end of the film we invited people to receive further information with a simple click. Together with the film this invitation was viewed over 9,000 000 times.

Within only two weeks the ETS landing page had over 30 000 relevant visits. As a result the traffic on Volkswagen´s e-mobility platform increased by ten times within just four weeks after the film was put online. The average stay was 5:34 minutes, meaning the visit duration increased by 72% during the campaign period.

But there was more to come: the requests for test drives and further information exceeded all expectations. For example 2.246 new car configurations were made. The video itself was widely shared and discussed, putting Volkswagen on the public radar when it comes to future technology. After ten days, the film had been watched over 9 000 000 times, surpassing almost every other car campaign and at a fraction of the cost. Google searches for Volkswagen e-mobility were four times higher than expected. Overall the click-rate outperformed the Volkswagen all time, digital campaign benchmark by six times.