Volvo and Sky Atlantic have partnered since 2013 through a TV sponsorship. The partnership has built long-term brand strength and has widened Volvo’s image beyond safety, with more focus on innovation, design and a progressive mindset.

This partnership happens in a context where Volvo is moving to a direct-to-consumer model. That shift raised expectations for marketing: keep the brand consistent, and show clearer business impact.

For this campaign, Sky Media introduced “Smart Sponsorship”, which adds addressable targeting to a broadcast sponsorship. This actually makes this collaboration the first time addressable targeting was integrated into broadcast sponsorship in the UK.

Also, the ident version changed by audience group, as households in different segments received different idents within the Sky Atlantic sponsorship. Four segments shaped the creative routes:

• Mobility Pioneers (25–35)
• Mobility Pioneers (35–55)
• Pragmatic Drivers
• Trendy Car Buyers

Each segment received idents that highlighted different Volvo themes (e.g. electric mobility and sustainability, safety, design and technology) while keeping the same Volvo look and feel.

Campaign objectives

The main objective was to evolve a long-running sponsorship into a more performance-driven and more personalised approach, while keeping the reach and brand role of a channel sponsorship.

The campaign had three goals: increase relevance through audience-led creative, drive deeper engagement within the sponsorship environment, and deliver measurable uplift in brand metrics and purchase intent.

Given the strength of the ongoing partnership with Volvo, the key point here was whether personalisation could lift results further without changing the core sponsorship set-up.

Creative minds

Sky Media brings “Smart Sponsorship” to the activity and uses AdSmart to deliver different versions by household.

On the client side, Georgina Williams, UK Marketing Operations at Volvo, says this personalised approach helps the message connect with the right people and supports business results.

Campaign video

Here is one of the Volvo Sky Atlantic sponsorship idents for this campaign. It uses Volvo’s established brand styling and delivers a short, clear message designed for repeated placement around programming.

Results

In the end, the campaign delivered stronger scores than the industry norms stated in the entry across three creative diagnostics.

• Visibility: 94% (norm 91%)
• Clarity: 91% (norm 79%)
• Believability: 91% (norm 81%)

Qualitative feedback also differed by segment. For instance, the “Pragmatic Drivers” segment responded positively to family-focused narratives, while the “Trendy Car Buyers” praised sleek technology cues and modern aesthetics. As for ‘Younger Mobility Pioneers”, they connected with future-focused storytelling, and “older Mobility Pioneers” valued safety innovations and design detail.

On top of this, brand image rose by +6% year on year, while purchase intent was +211% higher among exposed viewers than non-viewers, making it the highest uplift recorded across the 12-year partnership.

Client satisfaction is described as extremely high. Volvo refers to the partnership as helping them to “connect with our audience in a more personal way.”

Source: egta.com