The brief
Volvo planned to display more than its range of cars at Nanchang, Qingdao and Tianjin’s motor shows in 2018. For the famed Swedish marque, the three well-known automotive exhibitions in China were an opportunity to raise both sales and brand awareness among the wide swathe of potential customers.

Creative execution
True to the client’s objectives, Pico brought an international level of event and operational management to Volvo’s presence at the shows.

In the lead up to each event, Volvo’s online profile was boosted via social media channels including Weibo, WeChat and Tik Tok – the latter being a popular music video and social network platform in China. Simultaneously, the online engagement built anticipation for the marque’s upcoming show appearances.

The momentum was maintained at the shows themselves, where Volvo’s booths offered visitors a choice of engaging interactions which took them to the Swedish essence of the marque. Especially evocative highlights were the ‘FIKA’ coffee break corner and Swedish meatball tasting sessions, which in addition to serving up high quality catering, gave visitors a taste of the Swedish lifestyle. Other fun activities including dance performances and leather crafting workshops.

Meshing the project’s online and offline elements together was a mobile interactive page specially created by the team. Show attendees could use it to claim souvenirs at the Volvo booths.

Results
Client expectations for both the number of visitors to their stands and the effect of sales were wholly achieved. Volvo also complimented the shows’ positive effect on brand awareness.