The Volvo Blind spot Billboard is an interactive billboard that warns drivers of incoming cyclists in real time on the screen. By using an everyday medium in an unexpected way, we made Volvo’s Safety vision tangible to all drivers and cyclists in a relevant and immersive way. Because consumers could immediately experience the added value of our safety features in everyday situations, we were able to establish a direct and personal connection between them and Volvo. Showing that the value of road safety remains something tangible and relevant in their daily life.

In Belgium, over 25% of all car sales are realised in January. After 2020 being a “lost” year due to the covid crisis. Car manufacturers will do anything to regain market share, resulting in a huge communication offensive from all competitors. In order to stand out from the clutter, we wanted to emphasise on Volvo’s historical lead in safety using the claim “make every driver a safe driver”

However, safety is becoming more and more a commodity; claimed by different car brands that introduce similar safety innovations. If we want to increase brand consideration and thought leadership on this domain, we need to keep refreshing this association.

Our mission was to create an activation that would increase brand consideration and support our tactical sales campaign. By letting consumers experience the added value of our safety features in everyday situations, we made safety something tangible and relevant in their daily life.

As a pioneer in safety, Volvo wants to make every driver a safe driver. Unfortunately, we can’t put everyone in a Volvo. We can, however, take Volvo’s blind spot detection technology (i.e BLIS) out of the car in into a digital billboard.

And that’s what we did. In one of the busiest streets of Brussels, known for its many accidents involving cyclists, a radar sensor was installed on top of a billboard signaling in real time and 3D to nearby cars when cyclists were approaching.

The billboard made all drivers aware of the presence of cyclists in their blind spot, even if they didn’t drive a Volvo. On top of that it also noticeably increased the safety of Brussels cyclists.

For the past few years, cycling is on the rise in Belgium. More and more Belgians are using their bike for both recreational and commuting purposes, especially in cities. (+64% in 2020) However, infrastructure is lagging behind. Government investments are unable to follow the sharp increase of cyclists, resulting in unfit and dangerous situations for all road users.

This led to the fact that, although fatal traffic accidents in Belgium have halved the last 15 years, fatal accidents involving cyclists have risen with 25%. In most cases, the blind spot is one of the main causes of serious or fatal bicycle accidents.

As far back as 2004, Volvo already tried to deal with this problem by creating the first blind spot detector. Today, with the increasing number of cyclists on city roads, we found it appropriate to highlight the importance of its BLIS (Blind Spot Information) system once more.

BLIS is a safety system that warns drivers of approaching vehicles behind and on the left and right side of the driver using integrated radar sensors. We’ve installed sensors on top of the DOOH to detect all movement in the street and filter cyclists from a distance of 45 meters. This sensor is connected to a compact PC that controls the screen on the DOOH.

Through the radar we were able to activate an animation on the DOOH. As soon as a cyclist approached, a 3D animation in real time appeared accompanied by a warning sign for the drivers. Both the distance to the DOOH and the speed of the cyclist are displayed synchronously in this animation. An extra warning is displayed when the cyclist is about to cross the side street, urging the driver to stop before turning right.

During the 2 weeks our campaign was live, the blind spot billboard was experienced by more than 222.000 drivers. On top of that, the awareness video on social was watched over 2.2 million times.

The campaign also caught the attention of both national and international press, receiving coverage in all national newspapers and being internationally featured by LLB, Adforum, Contagious magazine and Directory, resulting in a PR value that surpassed our total campaign budget multiple times.

But most important, the campaign didn’t miss the mark when it came to sales. In January, the number of offer requests had more than doubled compared to last year (+117%). And in a declining market (-13%), Volvo managed to increase sales by a staggering 7%. Leading to a severe increase in market share with the Volvo XC40 being the most popular car model in Belgium until today.