Instant Test Drive
Volkswagen Sweden
Issue 39 | June 2016
Agency
DDB Stockholm
Creative Team
Digital Director Andreas Fabbe Andersen Digital Designers Andreas Blombäck Mattias Nordenham UX Designer Ida Reimers
Production Team
Film Producer Erik Lindgren Production Company The Brewery
Other Credits
Business Director Michael Hollesen Digital Account Director Katarina Mohlin Account Manager Julia Björk
Date
April 2016
Background
For car manufacturers, fighting their way to the front of the consumer's mind was only part of the problem. Nobody bought a car without a test drive.
But organising a test drive was a pain. The dealer was miles away and sometimes sited on a cruddy industrial estate. Apart from all that, life just got in the way. There was almost always something better to do.
Idea
Working with DDB Stockholm, VW's thinking was that, if arranging a test drive could be made as easy ordering up an Uber or a takeaway pizza, it could radically change the whole car-buying process.
Instant Test Drive worked via the smart phone browser. Would-be test drivers visited www.instanttestdrive.com, chose the model they wanted to drive and the location. The closest available car was notified and the VW salesperson directed over to meet them, estimating time of arrival. And off they went, whether it was an A to B journey or a round trip.
Customers handed the car back to VW and their information was stored on the web portal. Follow-up emails were triggered, including details of dealer locations and information about the test drive car.
Results
The three-week test only went into operation in Stockholm in mid-April, but there were intentions to roll it out in as many cities as possible.
Our Thoughts
We're beginning to see the influence of Uber in the way brands design convenience into their service offering. Cars seems like a good place to start.
In terms of the purchase funnel, the test drive is the last – the hardest – mile. But it's the thing that most often crystallises the want and hooks the customer. So anything that makes it easier to arrange is a bonus.
This idea is straightforward: so how come no car manufacturer thought of this before? Probably because it requires them to change their processes and culture. After all, car dealers aren't really known for letting the customer choose their own time or test drive route, and the idea of letting them go from A to B is a hard one for them to swallow.
Of course, it's open to abuse. The temptation to use a test drive like a taxi service is hard to resist – which probably explains why they're testing with the decent, honest Swedes first.