VW Activates UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 Via ‘Tiny Buzz Car’ On-Pitch Stunt & Social Campaign

Volkswagen’s (VW) ‘Tiny Buzz Car’ activated the German car giant’s UEFA partnership at the Women’s Euro 2022 tournament via a campaign which linked the on-pitch, miniature remote control car delivering the official match ball for kick-off to an anthromorphised social media campaign.

The official UEFA automotive partner sought to capture fan attention and generate social engagement campaign through a tiny, multicoloured remote control vehicle which made its debut immediately ahead of the opening game kick-off at Old Trafford on 6 July (when host nation England beat Austria) and took its bow at the final at Wembley on 31 July (when England defeated Germany).

This Women’s Euro 2022 activation followed in the footsteps of VW’s Men’s Euro 2020 tournament marketing which took place during summer 2021.

The campaign, which was developed with agency Tribal Worldwide, sought to spark and continue the word of mouth buzz generated by the miniature car’s on-pitch appearances.

Called ‘Tiny Buzz’, the car interacted with fans through its own Twitter and TikTok accounts which built a personality for the little vehicle and aimed to establish a fresh tone of voice from other VW accounts and thus evolve the brand’s positioning.

The campaign has been steered by Tribal Worldwide, with the deliberate aim of striking a different tone of voice from other Volkswagen accounts.

The social team worked in tandem with UEFA and VW UK marketer teams to share and celebrate key moments – from tournament footage to mini car imagery – all featuring the distinctive ‘Tiny Buzz’ tone of voice.

For the final, the community managers and social media managers live-tweeted as they reacted in real time to the key match moment and

The campaign, which ran in parallel with VW’s #NotWomensFootball campaign activated both its UEFA partnership and its sponsorship of the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB), rolled out through the tournament and in its entirety from a first appearance at Euro 2020 on 8 July 2021, to its final appearance at Euro 2022 on 1 August 2022.

@tinyfootballcar My first appearance at #EURO2020. #tinyfootballcar #football ♬ original sound – Tiny Football Car & Tiny Buzz

So, does that make me a legend? #WEURO2022 @WembleyStadium

– Tiny Buzz ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/soWoAb9e0O

— Tiny Football Car & Tiny Buzz ⚡️ (@TinyFootballCar) August 3, 2022

The pitch is ready. The stage is set. Good luck to the @Lionesses and @DFB_Frauen! Let's go!!⚽ #WEURO2022 #ENGGER #Wembley

– Tiny Buzz ⚡ pic.twitter.com/u3uHoVbfJe

— Tiny Football Car & Tiny Buzz ⚡️ (@TinyFootballCar) July 31, 2022

@tinyfootballcar It’s finally coming home! Can I carry the trophy? – Tiny Buzz ⚡️ #WEURO2022 ♬ original sound – ladbabyofficial

“After the huge success of Tiny Football Car at UEFA Euro 2020 last year, introducing Tiny Buzz at UEFA Women’s Euros is an exciting next step to build on the momentum of the campaign,” explained VW UK Marketing Communications lead For EV Rhidian Taylor. “We’ve already seen extensive engagement across Twitter and TikTok and are looking forward to seeing this continue to grow.”

Tribal Worldwide Head Of Social Vanessa Hartley added: “We’re very proud of the results Tiny Football Car achieved last year, with this latest campaign giving us another opportunity to further develop conversations with audiences all around the globe. Tiny Buzz has already built a strong online fan base surrounding the UEFA Women’s Euros—and we’re delighted to be building an engaged community with such a fun campaign.”

Outcome

Through the tournament, the activation generated more than 8,000 mentions, 5.4m Likes and 15.9m impressions.