Prepping for the launch of a new Jetta this summer and the midsize sedan made in Chattanooga next year, Volkswagen will air a Super Bowl ad in February and kick off a campaign to rapidly boost sales.
"We want to create the impression of 'Hey, there's a Volkswagen for me,'" said Stefan Jacoby, VW Group of America's chief executive.
Mr. Jacoby said the campaign will feature the ideas that VW's are fun to drive as well as possess German engineering.
"We need to bring the brands closer to clients and potential clients," he told a group of foreign and American journalists at VW's U.S headquarters outside Washington, D.C. He spoke as a lead-in to the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, which started Monday.
VW 2009 SALES* Volkswagen Group delivered 6.29 million vehicles worldwide in 2009, up 1.1 percent* World market share jumped to 11.4 percent, up from 10.3 percent in 2008* Volkswagen brand deliveries rose by 7.8 percent to 3.95 million vehiclesSource: Volkswagen
The 30-second Super Bowl spot is the first time in nine years VW has advertised during the NFL championship game. The spot also is the first work created for VW by new ad agency Deutsch LA.
The spot will kick off a two-month campaign that will run extensively to support VW's national sales event. It will include newspaper, TV, online, outdoor and radio ads, according to VW.
A second phase will more clearly define what goes into a VW and leverage the "Das Auto" tagline.
"This is definitely the highlight of our promotions in the U.S. market," Mr. Jacoby said about the ad effort.
VW wants to double U.S. sales to about 400,000 vehicles within the next few years, he said. It is aiming to sell 800,000 units nationally in 2018.
Frank Fischer, CEO of VW's Chattanooga operations, said the company is readying suppliers and workers for an early 2011 production start for the sedan that will be new to the American market.
About 300 employees are on board in Chattanooga so far, he said. The company plans to ramp up its work force to more than 2,000.
"People are really behind the project," Mr. Fischer said.
Tim Ellis, VW of America's vice president of marketing, said the Super Bowl is the ideal place for the German automaker to debut the new campaign to nearly 100 million viewers.
He said people think they're familiar with all they need to know about VW.
"The campaign gives consumers a reason to take another look at the brand and gain new perspective on the breadth of our vehicle offerings, quality, performance and value," Mr. Ellis said.