India is a cricket crazy nation, and the fever peaks in the World Cup season. There are a plethora of brands that line up to leverage this excitement among their consumers, but most of them fall flat in their communication, and none of them really stand out. Over the course of the month, most brand communications can’t be distinguished from another. But here’s a brand which has most certainly broken the clutter with a very unique approach to this World Cup – Volkswagen!
Volkswagen as a brand has deep cultural roots in Germany, and is also the epitome of innovative German Engineering. The brand thus gifted us a joyful mix of the two cultures – German and Indian. It brought some spirited support for the Indian cricket team, from the most unexpected sources. Yes, you guessed it right, Germany itself.
Football superstar, Thomas Mueller tweeted his support for the Indian cricket team, and the support just took off from there. It’s interesting to note how this ties up with the brand’s target audience in India as well, which has been identified as a segment which loves and follows football.
I wish all participants of the Cricket #WorldCup2019 good luck & thrilling matches. Especially I cross my fingers for @imVkohli, the captain of the Indian team. He`s a fan of @DFB_Team and supported it multiple times in the past 🏏✊😃 #Cricket #GermanyCheersForIndia #esmuellert pic.twitter.com/hwS4apAlIE
— Thomas Müller (@esmuellert_) June 3, 2019
This tweet was covered extensively by prominent media outlets, and also received a heartfelt response from the cream of India’s cricketing fraternity. #GermanyCheersForIndia was trending in no time.
What news to start the World Cup! The Germans are cheering for #India. Hey @imVkohli you have a new set of fans cheering the team. Go #TeamIndia, make us all proud. #Cricket #WorldCup2019 #GermanyCheersForIndia @VolkswagenIndia @esmuellert_ https://t.co/QAH4HU0jwT
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) June 3, 2019
Thank you Thomas! 😊 https://t.co/vapwNrn5A8
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) June 4, 2019
It feels great to have a world champion cheering for us to conquer the world. Thank you @esmuellert_ for cheering for #TeamIndia and thank you @volkswagenindia for starting the cheer. #GermanyCheersForIndia #WorldCup2019 #VWCupedition #VolkswagenIndia @bhogleharsha
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) June 4, 2019
The support really started coming in from all quarters.
Way to go #TeamIndia . Guess who is rooting for you at #worldcup2019 #GermanyCheersForIndia #Volkswagen @volkswagenindia @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/E7sxQ7g1UR
— Bastarto (@Bastarto) June 6, 2019
Here's wishing the Indian Cricket Team Best of Luck for the #cricketworldcup2019. Many cheers to @IamVKohli and team. Looking forward to the Trophy returning back to India. @volkswagenindia#GermanyCheersForIndia #cricket #iccworldcup2019 #PartnerForSports #PartnerForSuccess pic.twitter.com/GwpSe5lNM5
— Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (@IndoGerman) June 6, 2019
The Germans are pouring in their love as #TeamIndia is all set to play their first match. @IndoGerman @aaditya_c @frankhoffmann1#GermanyCheersForIndia #WorldCup2019 #VWCupEdition #VolkswagenIndia #Volkswagen pic.twitter.com/NkzUorkitA
— Volkswagen India (@volkswagenindia) June 5, 2019
https://www.instagram.com/p/Byc226aCtfO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
We also see the brand hosting a fun game of cricket in Germany, with the captain of the German cricket team.
And if you thought the beautiful coming together of cultures ended there, nuh uh, we also got to witness the popular Currywurst from Germany come in support of the Indian cricket team as well!
We loved this amalgamation of culture and passion, between Volkswagen and Cricket. Cricket is a religion in our country and has the potential to connect all of us with the sheer emotion and intensity that it brings with it.
Volkswagen India tapped into this love for the game, and introduced a new line up to create excitement for the fans, called the Volkswagen Cup Edition.
The Cup Edition is a symbol of the passion and sheer joy that the sport brings to its fans, and the brand is looking to leverage this excitement among the fans and create conversation around it.
In the clutter of campaigns this World Cup season, Volkswagen clearly stands out with their unprecedented approach to this campaign. We like how it was the fans of the sport at the centre of the campaign, instead of a product or service. The campaign was successful in bringing people together, who had nothing in common, apart from true love and passion for sport. It was also successful in growing the fan base of India to Germany, and we are sure the Indian team could use all the support, wishes and prayers right now!
