Mowing the Digital Landscape

Have you ever found yourself picking up on blatant product placement within a movie or television show and thought “they should just call it what it is, a commercial.”  Well, some companies have decided to do just that.  For example, in 2004, Volvo released a short film entitled The Route V50.  Directed by Academy Award nominee Stephen Frears and starring Robert Downey, Jr. the film was the second attempt by Volvo to build awareness for one of their vehicles via a short film.

Their first attempt was a mock-documentary called The Mystery of Dalaro, in which director Spike Jonze detailed the behavior of 32 people that live in a small Swedish town.  Interestingly, all of the town’s inhabitants happen to purchase a new Volvo S40 on the same day.
 

Both of the Volvo short films have a very Twilight Zone feel to them, engaging the viewer with odd story lines and unexpected twists, while leaving room for interpretation of the film’s deeper meaning.  In the case of The Route V50, Mr. Downey’s character “starts in a place called Doubt and ends in a place called Confidence.”  Humm, I wonder what Volvo is trying to tell you about owning one of their cars?

While the short films produced by companies such as Volvo, BMW, and Pirelli, may be entertaining and thought provoking, do they actual help sell the products?  Well…sort of.

The objective of the Volvo campaign was to “extend the awareness and excitement surrounding the ’Route V50’ film online, and create a deeper brand involvement with bespoke content and interactive material.  According to a case study created by AOL, The Route V50 micro-site received over 100,000 impressions in the first month of the campaign. The companion Web site also featured a promotional contest that garnered 13,000 entries from interested consumers. Of that group, 2,311 of the registrants opted in to receive additional marketing messages and information from Volvo. 

In other words, in Volvo’s case, short films were a strong brand building medium, as well as an effective method of gathering contact info from interested parties.  What there is little evidence of is whether or not the short films actually led to a decrease in the number of V50’s on the dealers’ lots.  So, if your marketing goals are tied to specific sales matrix, then you may want to think long and hard about using a short and sweet film in your next marketing campaign.