Volkswagen has launched a contest that asks college students from all over the world to design their new concept. The prize? The winning design will be includedin a video game, and the top three designers win an internship at VW Design. The only rules are that the designers could work in groups of up to two people, and the design has to reflect the style of the brand (it has to be a VW), without basing their design on any existing model.
This is a smart move from VW, college students will become consumers of new cars in 4-8 years depending on their jobs, and that time is what it takes for a car to go from design to prototype and finally production line. By allowing college students to design their own car, VW can gather data on what the sector that will create most of their sales in the future wants to buy. This strategy could be the key to their plan of becoming the number one brand in sales by 2018. The design contest would be the easiest way to gather this information of what the target generation wants in their cars, by offering a minimal prize in exchange.
It would not be surprising to see that VW pays special attention to the Chinese designs since this is the market that they are targeting to expand the most in order to reach their goal. The contest will run until August 15th, it will be interesting to pay attention to the winners, their designs and their nationalities. It would not be surprising if we see a similar design to the winner at the VW dealerships in a couple years.
http://volkswagen-design-contest.com/
I think this definitely relates back to my post about the Audi dealership. These companies, German ones specifically, are utilizing technology like they never have before to sell cars.
The contest is a great way for Volkswagen to get their brand name and models out in the public’s eye. A way they could switch the contest is that kids have to vote on which design they like the best. This would allow Volkswagen to conclude which automobile would be received best from the consumers, specifically future car consumers graduating college.
A vote would definitely ensure a better understanding of what the market wants to see in the future. But overall, this is a great marketing tactic for VW. It gets consumers excited about the future of VW and helps the company with designs they hadn’t of thought of and the submissions give the folks at VW an idea of what kind of style the future of automobile consumers want to see.
It’s interesting to get your perspective on who the winner might be. Because VW is trying to pursue China they may want to choose a Chinese winner. This could easily be solved by having the world vote on these designs and weigh China’s votes with more value.
This is a great way to increase VW’s popularity worldwide and I think for the contestants it would be a educational and fun experience. I remember when I was in high school, my friends and I signed up for a environmental protection competition set up by Volvo. We ended up going to Sweden for ten days being paid by Volvo and won $10,000. The interesting part is, two of my friends ended up buying Volvo cars after they come to the US. I think that experience played an important role in their decisions.