How to Make a Buyer Feel Good

If you read my blog post from last week, you might assume I dislike Volkswagen for their commercial that plays on the idea that women are the ones in the kitchen, while the fathers are off at work. While that version of their marketing disturbs me, Volkswagen has caught my attention in a positive way. In June, I ran into a stream of videos hosted by Volkswagen's Fun Theory Project. On their website, they describe The Fun Theory as "fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better."

Volkswagen held a competition that gave an award and money to the idea that best implemented their Fun Theory.  Some of the videos documenting the creation of Fun Theory projects include making a staircase into a piano to encourage exercise, a recycling bin transformed into an arcade game to encourage more recycling, and a speed camera lottery to encourage safe speeds in driving.

The piano staircase, the most popular of the projects, has collected over 18 million views on YouTube. These videos are what made me think to look up Volkswagen commercials for this blog in the first place. Before I saw these, I would never have thought of Volkswagen when choosing a car. But when I eventually do look for a car, I will definitely research their options. Volkswagen is also implementing this idea into their car plans, for example, they are creating a fuel efficient sports car. They want to make driving more fuel efficient cars fun. More companies should invest in projects like this that help benifit the world but also positively promote their company name. I want to feel good about promoting the companies I buy from, and Volkswagen does that for me.