Volkswagen

The Objective

Introducing an all-new electric vehicle

How do you make noise when your new product is ultra-silent? For VW, the answer was TikTok. VW wanted to introduce the all-new, all-electric Volkswagen ID.4 SUV to a new audience that may not have electric vehicles on their radar. The goal was to seamlessly use the power of influencers' voices, creativity and communities to drive engagement with the all-new, all-electric VW ID.4.

The Solution

Capturing attention with creators & sound

VW wanted to bring next-level awareness to the launch of its new electric vehicle. As part of its larger ad campaign, VW looked to TikTok as a way to leverage new creative styles to entertain and engage the brand's core in-market audience. In alignment with the platform's sound-on mentality, VW worked with noteworthy TikTok creator Kurt Schneider and pop-duo Ni/Co to produce a fresh new soundtrack using the all-new, all-electric VW ID.4.

The TikTok community knows Kurt Schneider for bringing life to inanimate objects through sound. For this campaign, he took features of the vehicle—locks, beeps, clicks—and turned them into a captivating tune that became the cornerstone soundtrack of the ID.4 SUV. VW turned up the volume with a TopView ad, bringing the campaign's sound front and center to users on the platform to drive the impact and awareness it was after. TikTok’s sound-on campaigns are 2.2x better at increasing brand awareness than competitors with sound off, leading to a +6% increase in purchase intent and +9% increase in brand favorability.

Kicking off the campaign with a TopView ad delivered significant reach early on, reaching over 23 million users for a total of 65 million impressions. Custom sound helped make a big splash by immediately capturing and holding viewers' attention. VW then segued into a retargeting strategy of creator-led In-Feed Ads to extend the campaign by leveraging the TikTok Creator Marketplace . The creator videos that followed demonstrated the real-world benefits of switching to an electric vehicle, highlighting VW's belief that before it can change the world, it has to change yours.

The environmental impact of switching to an all-electric vehicle is undeniable, but not everyone is convinced. So to encourage mass adoption of electric vehicles, VW worked with the mother-son TikTok creator duo @greyandmama , well-loved for the toddler’s expression of gratitude, to showcase the vehicle's benefits from a family perspective and how electric vehicles can be part of everyday life.

The Results

Electrifying success

Volkswagen's ID.4 SUV campaign delivered immediate results and a lasting impression. TopView results exceeded expectations across the board with over 56 million views and +13.5% impressions compared to TikTok benchmark. The sound-first creative held viewers' attention, garnering a +10.2% increase in average watch time compared to benchmark and a 14.4% overall engagement rate. And the sound-driven TopView was such a hit that VW brought the ad to linear TV, airing the catchy soundtrack during the NBA playoffs. TikTok-first? We like the sound of that.

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