Volvo Trucks
As the old generation retires, demand for young drivers – professional, passionate, and diverse – has exploded. They’re breaking the mold of the stereotypical trucker. Our video wanted to show a day in this modern driver’s life. We used a lookbook to share what modern demands are transforming the industry and call for newer drivers – the ones Volvo Trucks sees behind its wheel.
Role
Copywriter
Year
2014
Reality check
Look around. Virtually everything you see was hauled by a truck. If the Volvo truck driver is different, what sets him apart? We think it’s attitude. With quotes such as “My truck connects me to you — to the world” we’re trying to inspire drivers and everyone who shares the road.
Made for digital
While the video was our centerpiece, all touchpoints would drive to volvotrucksgear14.com, where the digital portion of the campaign lives. Parallax-scrolling helps separate dynamic and video backgrounds from shots of merchandise that we took in-house. We were the first agency to convince this brand to approach microsites this way – and it changed the way they approach digital marketing moving forward.
On-the-road and online
Getting the trucking industry to adopt digital has been slow – print is still the most effective way to reach the majority. When it comes to social media, we saw an opportunity to amp up influence and sentiment among drivers instead of fleet executives. Contrary to the overall industry, 60% of company drivers under 50 use Facebook. We thought giving drivers a Volvo Trucks community would help influence decision makers down the road.
For drivers, by drivers
We made truckers the heroes of our page, featuring a Volvo truck online every morning before drivers took the road. These posts were driven by user-submitted photos, which drew huge engagement, positive conversation, and leads from drivers with competitive-brand trucks. Eventually, overwhelming submissions convinced us to launch a dedicated Facebook app, so drivers could submit photos of their own Volvo truck.
