• by Karl Greenberg , March 3, 2009

Volvo is preparing to launch its newest vehicle, the 2010 XC60 compact SUV. Even though the vehicle goes on sale next week, Volvo has been promoting it and gathering pre-orders since last fall.

The company launched the second phase of its road show, the "From Sweden with Lov Experiential Tour," last month to canvas the southern and Western U.S. with a series of events hitting dealerships in 85 cities.

The experience combines kiosks, videos and timelines around the XC60, illustrating the new design DNA and "City Safety" feature, which applies brakes automatically when the vehicle senses an impending front-end collision. The tour also features live demonstrations of city safety.

Partly owned by Ford Motor, Volvo has also been running a series of videos from the tour on Youtube, www.volvocars.com/us/XC60Tour, and on www.thecarthatstopsitself.com.

"In a tough economy, with the tour attendance not initially as high as we have liked, during the second phase the attendance has improved because of proximity to launch," says Linda Gangeri, manager of national advertising for Volvo Cars North America. "In spite of everything, consumer response has been incredibly positive. Ninety-seven percent of consumers said they would attend another [Volvo] event."

She says the experiential marketing efforts will continue this year at events like the Volvo Ocean Race in Boston and in New York around the Final Four, as well as through dealer group events.

The national media plan starts next week with advertising on national and local cable, print, and "a substantial online presence, mobile, and a little in-cinema advertising," per Gangeri. She says the vehicle represents a new beginning for the brand--"From the standpoint of design and safety."

Although advertising for the new vehicle begins on Monday, the company has been running a spot, "Love Hurts," that shows historical test-crash footage of Volvos of yore being rammed into barriers, flipped and slammed into from the side set to the "1812 Overture." The ad, which finishes with footage of peoples' reactions to the City Safety feature, taken from the tour, ends with the tag, "The Volvo that can stop itself. Finally."

The vehicle is launching into a tough market, competing not only in a market in which even the luxury car market is in freefall, but also versus relatively new compact luxury SUVs like Audi's Q5, and Mercedes' GLK, as well as Lexus' RX 350, and BMW X3.

The segment has been very successful, but even compact SUVs have succumbed to what may be shaping up to be a depression with a little "d." Sales of Lexus' RX are down 7.1% year-to-date. Sales of BMW's X3 and X5 are down 73% and 22%, respectively. Both Audi and Mercedes-Benz posted sharp sales declines in the first two months this year.