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Volkswagen uses mobile to announce new vehicle launch

Volkswagen of America Inc. has announced its latest automobile launch through its Real Racing iPhone game application.

The all-new 2010 GTI made its debut in the Real Racing game on Thursday, claiming to be the the first time an automotive manufacturer has used the App Store to announce a new vehicle launch. Volkswagen is also giving consumers who play Real Racing GTI the chance to compete for the six limited-edition 2010 GTIs that are fully-customized inside and out.

?With the personalization of media and the challenges inherent with reaching constantly connected consumers, we challenged ourselves to rethink the way we launch vehicles in order to engage our consumers in a meaningful way,? said Charlie Taylor, general manager of digital marketing at Volkswagen of America, Herndon, VA.

?The Real Racing GTI app was formed directly out of that thinking and our extensive research on pinpointing the GTI target consumer, and we believe is the best way to connect them with the all-new 2010 GTI,? he said.

Volkswagen of America is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG and produces automobile models such as the new Beetle, new Beetle convertible, Jetta and Passat.

Mr. Taylor said that Volkswagen decided to launch the car on the iPhone because it has done in-depth research surrounding the GTI target consumer and found that the consumer is often a tech-savvy individual who enjoys social networking, playing games and spending time on mobile devices.

Consumers can enter once a day for a chance to win one of six GTIs from Volkswagen.

Once a consumer downloads Real Racing GTI for free from the Apple App Store, they are asked to register the game.

After registration, players need to launch the application and complete one lap within the day. After one lap is completed, the consumer is entered for a chance to win the automobile.

Players are only able to activate one chance to win per day.

The contest is running for six weeks with a winner randomly selected once per week.

Real Racing GTI has integrated social networking features. Players can upload videos of their best races to the game?s YouTube channel, email results to friends and send messages via Twitter.

?The GTI consumer uses and shares experiences with friends through social networking Web sites and services, such as YouTube, Twitter and others,? Mr. Taylor said. ?Given this ever-increasing prominence of social networking in the lives of the GTI's target consumers, Real Racing GTI includes Twitter and YouTube functionality directly within the game, allowing players to brag about times and scores, show off their driving skills and more.

?The services ultimately are a great way for Volkswagen to help spread the word about the game, and even more importantly, the all-new 2010 GTI, to both Volkswagen?s long-time supporters and enthusiasts, as well as future customers,? he said.

Volkswagen is no stranger to the mobile platform.

The automaker recently launched a WAP site that acts sort of like a shopping assistant (see story).

Volkswagen is also using 2D bar code technology to make its traditional printed media more interactive and engaging for consumers (see story).

Mr. Taylor said that mobile devices help Volkswagen reach consumers in a more direct way.

?For Volkswagen, mobile devices and the overall mobile space is the connector that we are using, and will continue to use, throughout all of our media assets,? Mr. Taylor said. ?The Real Racing GTI App is an excellent example of how Volkswagen's use of the mobile space can add a new dimension to our efforts for reaching customers, and provides a deeper level of engagement.?