For more than 80 years, Volvo has built its formidable reputation on safety. But in today’s automotive market, safety has become standard, and Volvo’s “safe” positioning has backfired on them. In short: People do think of Volvo as safe. But people also think of safe as boring.With the launch of the 2011 Volvo S60, Volvo finally had itself a truly worthy performer. And with it, they wanted to attract a new kind of consumer to the brand – a younger driver ready to step up to his or her first luxury sedan. They wanted to position the S60 alongside the BMW 3 series or the Audi A4 and become part of the same consideration set. This was a completely new breed of Volvo and they wanted communication to deliver something completely new as well.

Work was produced on a global level. The digital films ran exclusively online – on the Naughty HUB and various social networking channels such as YouTube and our Facebook page. TV was produced on a global level so that individual markets could adapt them to their market needs. Print was also created as templates that were adapted by individual markets around the world. In the US, we launched an integrated Naughty Tour and 4D Amsterdam also ran a really cool test to determine which European city is the ‘Naughtiest’ by going to 5 major European cities and they eventually uploaded this footage to our Facebook page.

Volvo is known for safety and reliability, not a dynamic driving experience. In 2010, when we launched the all-new S60 in the performance-oriented, midsize luxury sedan category, we needed to change perceptions - fast - to prove it was a worthy competitor vs. the BMW 3-series, Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class. So we developed an integrated campaign as unexpected and innovative as the car itself: The Naughty Volvo. We created an immersive digital experience to demonstrate just how naughty a Volvo could be and used social, traditional and experiential marketing to get people talking about the car. The Naughty Volvo campaign was Volvo’s primary message in 2010. In the USA, Brand Consideration jumped 42% during the first quarter after the campaign launched. Consumers were almost three times as inclined to purchase or lease the S60 after participating in our Naughty Volvo driving events. Overall, global sales increased +10% in 2010.