Volvo as a storytelling brand
- Steel & Feather
- Mar 16, 2017
- 3 min read
Volvo created great sales in 2016 and reach a new record of car sold in Sweden. However, “for the first time, since the 1960’s, Volvo is not the most sold car in Sweden”, it has been overtaken by Volkswagen model Golf, according to Business Insight Nordic.
Volvo do stand out since they have build their latest generations of adverts about the story and relation to Sweden. Volvo has made the relation their cars and brand is having to the individual person by using Swedish persons. As an example, in 2013 Volvo used the Swedish House Mafia in their launch video of the Volvo XC60. The video became launched in retaliation to Swedish House Mafia last trip back to Sweden. Volvo used the ending of an era for Swedish House Mafia to collaborate with them, so their last single would be launched in a music video together with Volvo.
This video is a very good example of how a brand can go beyond the product. Here Volvo would like to tell the story of “The Swedish House Mafia” through their song “Live the world behind you”, which reflects the benefits the audience can gain, by buying a Volvo. Everything told through an emotional story.
Later Volvo have used the tagline “Made by Sweden” to again make the association which the audience is having to Sweden such as, nature, safety, openness etc. This time, Volvo make the connection with its audience by using Zlatan Ibrahimovic who is telling the national anthem of Sweden. By ending reading the text: "I will live, I will die, in Sweden" Volvo's own description for this video is:
“Sweden is our home. Mountains, vast forests, long distances, sun, rain, darkness, snow and ice. This inspires and challenges us when we develop our cars. The Swedish wilderness is our heritage and it is here we find our strength. Just like Zlatan Ibrahimović. This is our celebration of Sweden”.
Volvo is hereby using their history and where they are coming from, to build their brand identity through emotion and storytelling. “Made by Sweden” was first launched in January 2014.
Using Zlatan's personal story
In the spring last year, Volvo decided to tell a more in-depth story of Zlatan Ibrahimović where the metaphor between his personal story and the story of Volvo is going hand in hand. The brand has become personalized and further through strategy Volvo have continued doing this, by using Zlatan’s last game and his journey back home as another metaphor for the brand and for the launching of their new V90 model. The story ends the “Epilogue” with the tagline “Where one story ends, another begins”.
"Live fully now"
Their latest advert "The Get Away Car" from January this year, Volvo even took their story further, by using the work “Live Fully Now” from 1959 by philosopher Allan Watts. Throughout the adverts the voice of Allan Watts is telling us the story of how we as humans can forget to live in the present but instead search for the future until we, in our mid 40’s, will discover that we have arrived. Volvo is here again making the relation to the human mind and their product by helping taking us on a journey. According the 7 basic blots (also referred to as archetypes) which adverts are using, “Overcoming the Monster”, “Rage to Riches”, “The Quest”, “Voyage and Return”, “Comedy”, “Tragedy and Rebirth”. Out of this seven plots, it can be argued that this advert is using the “Qeust”, and the “Rebirth” plot type of storytelling. Since “us” as the hero throughout the story is taking on a journey where we are ‘falling under a dark spell’ before we are breaking free and being redeemed with the last phrase as the conclusion: "You can't live at all..Unless you can live fully, Now".
During the last years, Volvo has showed that a brand can be a synonym for a whole country, a fact they have had for years. This information has now been turned into an insight which they has used to position themselves. Through storytelling they let the audience learn about not only Volvo as a Swedish brand but also a little bit of Swedish culture.
Volvo can be seen as the leading car company in safety however during their last generation their XC90 have won many design awards for their great new streamlined and clean design. Volvo has not only created great and safe cars for decades, they have also build stories behind their brand during the last years. By this the company has create a relation for the Swedish car brand with being Swedish and independent.
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