Family first / Families are Volkswagen’s biggest buyer group in the Netherlands, and the agency told us that one of the objectives of the campaign was to engage with this important target market. This project reconfirms Volkwagen’s positioning as a family-friendly company that goes beyond its core products (vehicles) to deliver a great customer experience. We have seen VW highlight its family-friendly positioning before. In New Zealand, for example, it enlisted kids to redesign speedometers to encourage safe driving.
Managing screen time / The purpose of the storytelling app is entertain kids without the need of a screen. In 2017, children in the US aged eight and younger spent around 48 minutes per day staring at screens, up from 15 minutes in 2013, reports Common Sense Media, a non-profit focused on helping children, parents and educators navigate the world of media and technology. According to the organisation, 42% of children in that age group also had their own tablet devices, an increase from 7% in 2013 and less than 1% in 2011.
Another recent study on screen time and young children recommends that in order for children to get the benefits associated with consuming media and limit the risks, they require active play and quality family time to develop essential life skills, such as language, self-regulation and creative thinking.
Road Tales is tackling the issue of too much screen time and fuelling children’s imaginations by giving children a reason to put their tablets away and look outside the window instead. The agency told us that one of the goal of the campaign was to encourage ‘brand sympathy’ in order to create a strong brand preference with its main audience. The Road Tales app gives parents an alternative to the usual screen-oriented car entertainment while ensuring that kids are still kept happy in the back seat.
