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Volkswagen Supports Teachers During Sales Event
- by Tanya Gazdik , July 9, 2019
Volkswagen of America is kicking off its summer sales event with a $1 million donation to fund classroom supplies.
The program is in collaboration with DonorsChoose.org, an online charity that helps teachers fund classroom projects throughout public schools across the nation.
A 30-second spot from Johannes Leonardo invites consumers to “Drive something bigger than yourself.” The effort also includes radio spots, digital, social and point-of-sale assets in both English and Spanish language versions.
Volkswagen announced a new direction for the brand last month, built around responsibility, innovation and ways a major automaker can help contribute to the greater good.
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This is the first major opportunity to demonstrate what it means to "drive bigger," according to the automaker, and helps kick off the “Drive Bigger” Summer Event, which will offer deals to customers on select 2019 Volkswagen models.
"The Drive Bigger brand platform was created to inform everything VW
does,“ Jan Jacobs, co-founder and chief creative officer of Johannes Leonardo tells Marketing Daily. “By giving customers the opportunity to have a broader effect on their
communities when visiting a dealership, we are shifting the focus away from just incentives and sales and asking people to drive something bigger than themselves."
The average public school teacher spends $479 on school supplies. At DonorsChoose.org, teachers request the resources their students need and donors can choose the ones they want to support.
Volkswagen’s $1 million donation includes both a corporate donation to DonorsChoose.org to directly fund selected classroom projects, as well as funding for DonorsChoose.org donation cards preloaded with funds from Volkswagen, available for dealers to give to customers during the promotion.
Customers who receive a donation card will be able to visit the web site and select a classroom project that Volkswagen will support. The company will also match employee contributions from $25 to $2,500.
The effort allows the automaker to turn words into action, says Jim Zabel, vice president of marketing for Volkswagen of America.
“Education in our public schools is a fundamental foundation for every student in this country, and DonorsChoose.org is able to support thousands of teachers and students each year,” states Zabel. “We think our role as a car company can be much bigger than just building vehicles that take students to and from school."
