Volkswagen, TRY & Relevant team up for a new campaign, driving test drives up 5x
Rise in EV range awareness and ID.7’s capability
29%Average time spent with the brand
43 hoursApp-enabled sweaters claimed within a week
ThousandsTHE CHALLENGE
Walk 613 km to win VW ID7. How to accurately track the walking distance?
When Volkswagen launched ID.7 electric car with a 613 km range in Norway, most people didn’t realize how impressive that was.
To change this, the German automaker teamed up with TRY for a memorable marketing campaign. The goal was to showcase ID.7’s remarkable range and encourage more test drives.
TRY, Norway’s best agency, came up with a creative idea: produce branded sweatshirts with built-in sensors and challenge people to walk in them the same distance, 613 km, for a chance to win a car.
But to make it possible, TRY needed to build a custom app that would connect with the sensors and track each kilometer walked.
Eirik EikaasSenior technical PM and head of IT Ops at TRYThe decision to engage Relevant Software to develop the Volkswagen Genser App was influenced by previous positive experiences and their well-earned reputation for professionalism and adaptability.
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Book a free consultationTHE SOLUTION
Our team built a beacon app that connects with the sweaters and records each kilometer walked
Beacons to collect walking data
We assigned two developers and a PM to take on the challenge and build a cross-platform application with integrated iBeacon technology that seamlessly connected to the sensors in the sweatshirts. This made tracking every kilometer walked effortless.
Firebase for real-time data transmission
The app needed to transfer data to the database in milliseconds after connecting to the sensors. To make this possible, we used Firebase’s serverless architecture, optimized for fast real-time data transmission. This pre-built setup also saved us from building the backend from scratch, speeding up the release process.
Reward system to encourage test drives
Volkswagen’s goal for this marketing campaign was to encourage ID.7 test drives. TRY came up with a clever reward system: participants who test-drove the ID.7 would automatically have half the required distance added to their progress. We brought this idea to life, integrating it into the app along with other bonuses to keep users motivated.
THE RESULT
5x increase in test drives
Compared to previous launches, the Volkswagen ID.7 campaign drew 5 times more people to test drive the car, bringing them one step closer to making a purchase.
Silver in Epica Awards
The campaign was so successful that it won Silver in the Vehicles category at the Epica Awards, a prestigious global creative prize for marketing and communication agencies.
3,656,889 km walked
The campaign gained massive popularity, with participants collectively walking a distance equivalent to 91 laps around the Earth before two winners were selected.
THE CLIENT'S REQUEST
- Develop a cross-platform mobile application to support Volkswagen’s ID.7 marketing campaign
- Enable accurate tracking of users’ walking activity
- Provide precise data collection to ensure every kilometer is counted
- Motivate users to stay engaged with the application through daily bonuses
WHAT WE DID
✓ Built a cross-platform app for both iOS and Android using a combination of React Native and Expo
✓ Integrated iBeacon technology, connecting smartphones to sweatshirt sensors
✓ Ensured fast, secure, real-time data transmission from sensors to the database
✓ Built a user-facing interface with a dynamic reward system
Eirik EikaasSenior technical PM and head of IT Ops at TRYWe are incredibly pleased with the results of their work and hope to continue our collaboration with Relevant Software on future projects.
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