The challenge: To launch the new Volvo XC60 on a tight budget, but with a view to generating maximum buzz and press coverage. The XC60 is Volvo’s new SUV, or “Crossover’’ vehicle, featuring a raft of world first safety features, including “city safety’’ rear end collision prevention.
Inhouse solution: Focus on a launch event concept with cut-through. “Crossover’’ is an industry term for SUVs – we decided to make a claim for the XC60 to own the word by making it the theme of the event: Crossover: An Evening to Celebrate Both Sides of Life.
To highlight how the vehicle is equally at home in the city and the great outdoors, the event space was split into two contrasting themes, with separate entrances. The Stylish Side was all city slickness, with a cool DJ, waiters in black tie mixing martinis and an urbane, sophisticated ambience. The Wild Side evoked a fantasy of the outdoors, with autumn leaves scattered on the ground, fairy lights hung from trees and a magical moonlit vibe. The car was revealed spectacularly as it burst through a wall of ice down a runway which then became a fashion show showcasing the wild and stylish sides of life. The event generated lots of media coverage and achieved talk of the town status.
