Sponsor Profile
VW Charts Local/Regional Sponsorship Course
Volkswagen of America seeks display opportunities from which it can generate consumer purchase leads.
: Already an active sponsor, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is putting the sponsorship pedal to the metal.
The automaker has recently expanded its sponsorship presence on the local and regional level, aligning with properties ranging from air shows to art festivals and a number of property types in between.
New ties include the Bethpage Federal Credit Union New York Air Show, the Cambridge River Festival in Massachusetts, the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning in association with PNC, San Francisco’s ING Bay to Breakers 12K and Go Green Expos in New York City and Philadelphia.
VW also has forged new deals on the pro sports front, recently aligning with the NHL Buffalo Sabres and MLS Houston Dynamo, the latter of which supports the automaker’s national MLS partnership.
More sponsorships could be in the works, said Ben Freidson, VW’s manager of sports marketing.
“We’ve charged the entire country to align with more events and get our products out to local communities.”
The automaker launched the new initiative to boost familiarity and consideration of its expanding product lineup, Freidson said.
“Most people know us for the Jetta, Beetle and Passat. Sponsorship lets us get our core new products out there: the CC sedan, Routan minivan and Tiguan SUV. It’s necessary for us to get more awareness and familiarity of those cars.”
The new sponsorship push also supports VW’s quest for expansion in the U.S. Parent Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. has stated it wants to sell one million cars a year in the U.S. by ’18, including its Audi, Bentley and other lines.
To support that effort, the unit of Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen AG is building a vehicle assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. that is expected to produce 150,000 vehicles a year when it becomes operational in ’11.
The new plant has resulted in at least one new sponsorship: Volkswagen Group last month announced a partnership with the Tennessee Aquarium, around which it is supporting the nonprofit’s field projects and other conservation efforts.
Regional Offices Take The Wheel
Much of Volkswagen of America’s new sponsorship activity is driven by its four regional offices, with the Northeast currently the most active.
“We have strong communication and coordination between regional marketing managers and dealers to push events to a new level,” Freidson said.
To advance the effort, the company has given its regional offices more tools to support sponsorship, he said. That includes brand ambassadors “that can get to any key market within 24 hours,” as well as creative that supports national messaging, he said.
VW also has assigned representatives from ad agency Deutsch to assist each regional office with scouting and implementing deals.
For example, Scott Cohen, account supervisor in Deutsch’s New York City office, helped spearhead the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning sponsorship and other deals in the Northeast.
The automaker, which brought on Deutsch as its ad agency of record last year, also works with the MediaCom ESP unit of planning and buying agency MediaCom Worldwide. (
IEG SR publisher IEG, LLC and MediaCom are both GroupM businesses, part of the media investment management operation of WPP Group plc.)
When evaluating opportunities, VW looks for on-site vehicle display that it can use to create “a rich product experience,” Freidson said, including the ability to interact with consumers and gain leads for follow-up marketing.
VW will have such an on-site presence at the Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, featuring the Touareg SUV and other vehicles. The partnership also includes title of the Blue Sky VIP Club, a ticket package that includes priority viewing, VIP parking and access to a private tent, said Howard Freeman, president of Promo 1, the event’s producer.
The sponsorship will expose VW and its products to roughly 175,000 consumers, each of whom spend an average of 7.5 hours at the festival, he added.
Additional deals with running events could be on VW’s horizon. The company partnered with the ING Bay to Breakers based on the success of its longtime tie with the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
“Running and marathons indexes well with our core customer,” Freidson said.
Expands Soccer Ties With Dynamo Sponsorship
The automaker partnered with the MLS Dynamo due to the team’s large number of Hispanic fans. Roughly 50 percent of Dynamo fans are Hispanic compared to 30 percent for other MLS teams, Freidson said.
Local dealers also were interested in aligning with the team and participating in soccer-related activities, he added. “It’s the perfect storm when you find the sweet spot for dealer passion and interest in getting involved and activating a sponsorship.”
The company leverages its MLS partnership—now in its third year—with a grassroots campaign at youth soccer matches and related activities.
The program features an on-site experiential marketing area where attendees can check out vehicles and play games that promote vehicle functionality, including a soccer equipment loading game that highlights vehicle cargo capacity, and video games that play up the Routan’s entertainment features.
The automaker runs similar activation programs at the MLS All-Star Game and other league events, Freidson added.
In addition to MLS and the Dynamo, VW is in its third year as jersey sponsor for the league’s D.C. United. The company signed the deal, along with ties to Washington, D.C.’s Verizon Center and tenants NBA Washington Wizards and NHL Washington Capitals—around its ’08 corporate relocation from Auburn Hills, Mich. to Herndon, Va.
VW activates D.C. United with an on-site Volkswagen Garage interactive area, while the Verizon Center affords title of the venue’s upper level—the Volkswagen Penthaus—as well as product display and other benefits.
On the motorsports front, VW sponsors the Jetta TDI Cup, a two-year-old proprietary racing series that it uses to promote its TDI clean burning diesel engine technology.
The company has moved away from concerts and film festivals, said Freidson, noting that most ties lacked the opportunity for a rich on-site experience.
“The combination of beer consumption and a short window of opportunity makes it challenging.”
Tim Ellis, vice president of marketing, oversees Volkswagen of America’s sponsorship efforts.
Sources
Volkswagen of America, Inc., Tel: 703/364-7000
Promo 1, Tel: 973/882-8240