Volvo’s Missed Opportunity

It turns out that the “Who would you give a Volvo to?” campaign is not a contest, and no cars are being given away. In retrospect, it should have been obvious by the omission of the “lawyer-on-speed” mandatories at the end of the spots and the “*” on the billboards.

What makes it awful is that Volvo and their agency are standing their ground.

From Adweek - Volvo Defends Purported Giveaway :

“[John] Maloney [, VP of Communications for Volvo Cars of North America]. acknowledged that some of the entries looked like overtures to win a car, but said, “We have no intention to suck anybody in.”

…

“We are comfortable going forward and there is no intent to deceive,” Maloney said. “It’s very clear from the ads that this is about love. It’s about who do you want to protect in your life.”

Come on! If it’s so clear, then why were 11,000 people confused? Why did they then add the following disclaimer to the site:

What Volvo should have said:

“We’re sorry for the confusion, we never meant to mislead anyone, but we are happy that the campaign has resonated so well with all of you. To make things right, Volvo is making good on our perceived offer, and we’ll be give away a brand new S40 or XC90 every month for a year.

Everyone makes mistakes, but just like people, companies should be judged by how they respond to them. We hope this won’t impact your trust of the Volvo brand to keep your loved ones safe, and we’ll try hard in the future to avoid mistakes like this.”

The missed opportunity:

People LIKE this campaign. It’s advertising GOLD for the target audience. For the wholesale price of a few cars, Volvo could have appeased everyone and shown that they were a bold company, responsive to consumer feedback, and not afraid to admit when it’s wrong.

That last issue is becoming more and more important to consumers. The irony is that you can’t establish yourself as accountable and honest until you have a suitable screwup. Volvo did, and Volvo blew it.

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