Volkswagen Canada selected 14 “outstanding” Canadians to honour in special events held in Toronto and Montreal, building on the “Volksgiving” customer appreciation initiative launched last year.
The automaker poured over 1,300 submissions from across the country, looking for Volkswagen owners who went above the call of duty through their volunteer work.
The “Volksgiving Team,” unbeknownst to its special guests, worked with their significant others to craft a unique culinary experience, and the brand provided charitable donations to each volunteer’s organization. Recipients also received personalized thank you gifts.
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Lynne Piette, Volkswagen director of marketing for Canada, says that the concept of “Volksgiving” began as a concept to reward loyalty, but with this latest iteration it morphed into something more than that. “By honouring individuals that have given so much of themselves to such worthy causes, we hope to build upon their spirit, and spread the goodness of these volunteers from coast-to-coast and serve as inspiration for all of us,” Piette says.
Volkswagen considers itself “the people’s brand,” and previous efforts have tapped the loyalty of its customer base to share their stories and promote the brand. In the summer, the automaker turned the creative reins over to fans to shoot its “Power to the People” spot promoting its new Jetta GLI model. Previously, it sought to reestablish consumer trust with its “Just Ask a Golf Driver” microsite to speak directly to consumers through drivers instead of a brand voice.
The “Volksgiving 2019” campaign was developed by Type1, the WPP cross-agency Volkswagen team. In 2018, the brand selected WPP to lead its North American marketing, including Canada.
