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MWW Group

ABA10 WinnerCompany: MWW Group, East Rutherford, NJ
Company Description: MWW Group is a full-service public relations and marketing communications firm known for its results-driven approach to public relations and "Aim High. Deliver." philosophy. MWW Group has been named Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report and Midsize Agency of the Year by PR News.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Marketing - Consumer Products

Nomination Title: Volkswagen GTI Becomes the World’s First Car Launched Exclusively On A Mobile Device

1. Tell the story about this nominated campaign since January 1 2009 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Volkswagen’s research and audience insights, led to the creation of an iPhone
and iPod Touch app by mobile agency AKQA, to exclusively launch the all-new
2010 GTI via a mobile platform called “Real Racing GTI”, making VW the first
auto manufacturer to do so. The game would be made available globally at no
cost.

The core objectives of the PR program from MWW Group were to support the
Volkswagen brand pillar of innovation, to engage our core enthusiast audience
in a new way, to generate buzz and consideration in the GTI audience of
technophile men and to use media attention to drive retail sales via hand-
raisers/qualified leads. The strategy was to leverage a unique launch platform
(mobile only) and event to generate media attention for the game (and
subsequently, the GTI), while driving game participation to funnel consumers to
Volkswagen.

The racing game borrowed many attributes of the GTI to provide the feeling of a
high-speed test drive. Users posted videos on YouTube and an online leaderboard
tracked rankings. Using the iPhone’s GPS function, fans could easily locate
the nearest Volkswagen dealer and schedule a test drive.

The launch was driven solely by publicity - no paid media, no online banners,
print ad or broadcast spot. MWW launched the campaign with a press, blogger and
influencer event in New York at the Classic Car Club of Manhattan. The event
took place on the eve of the availability of the game and car, making the
entire event a sneak peek. The team worked closely with Apple PR to leverage
their audience of iPhone supporters and app development media.

More than 125 journalists, bloggers and influencers joined Volkswagen to
celebrate the launch of the GTI and to experience Real Racing GTI.

Our primary goals for the program were to create national buzz around the
launch to increase consideration of the GTI amongst consumers, and to use the
unique launch platform to drive retail sales interest. The program exceeded
expectations in both categories.

During the 6-week program we generated more than 255 million media impressions.
Total media relations efforts returned $2M in equivalent ad value to Volkswagen
(an 800% return on its public relations investment).

With the bar set at 1.5 million downloads for the app, the numbers far exceeded
expectations. Real Racing GTI saw over 3.7 million downloads. Real Racing GTI
became #1 free app on Apple iTunes App Store within 5 days, the #1 free global
app on Apple iTunes for 36 of 59 countries and a Top 5 free app in all
countries where the iTunes Store is available.

In addition to media impressions, our program hashtag (#gti2010) reached #6 on
the global trending topics on Twitter during launch week. Over the course of
the campaign, Volkswagen saw an 81% increase in weekly leads for the GTI from
vw.com, an 86% increase in Get a Quote Submissions for the GTI and an 80% jump
in test drives at dealers. Eighty-five cars were sold via leads generated
exclusively by the game.

2. List hyperlinks to any online work samples, news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

http://www.vw.com/realracinggti/en/us/
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/vw-relies-on-iphone-app-to-market-new-gti/
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/22/vw-launches-real-racing-gti-on-iphone-giving-away-six-gtis/
http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/the-volkswagen-gti-iphone-app-story/
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/real-racing-gti-gamevolkswagen-gti-iphone-game-ar80656.html
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/22/volkswagen-abandons-traditional-marketing-in-favor-of-iphone-gam/
http://www.egmcartech.com/2009/10/24/2010-volkswagen-gti-being-launched-via-real-racing-gti-iphone-app/
http://www.ridelust.com/2010-vw-gti-hits-the-u-s-via-iphone-app/
http://www.gadgetell.com/tech/comment/new-car-launch-theres-an-app-for-that-vw-pitches-2010-gti-via-iphone-app/
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2009/10/race-a-volkswagen-gti-on-your-iphone-win-a-real-gti.html
http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/volkswagen-launch-new-gti-on-iphone-app/
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-10381840-233.html
http://wot.motortrend.com/6583871/marketing/volkswagen-launches-iphone-app-competition-to-win-10-gti-mkvi/photo_3.html

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that carried out this campaign:

MWW Group is a national, full-service public relations and communications firm
with international reach and local expertise, committed to the philosophy
of “Aim High. Deliver” as reflected in its more than two decades heritage of
client service and results. MWW Group began in a small office with one employee
representing one client – and a voracious desire to set the industry standard
for strategic communications. Today, we are one of the top 10 PR agencies in
the nation with offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia.