Last but not least: Counterfeiters in the blogosphere
Weblogs are universally praised as an indispensable tool for the external presentation of a company. A regular online diary creates loyalty to the company and ensures a high degree of transparency. The Volkswagen Group proved the opposite last week.
Weblogs are universally praised as an indispensable tool for the external presentation of a company. A regular online diary creates loyalty to the company and ensures a high degree of transparency. The Volkswagen Group proved the opposite last week.
For almost four weeks, it was kept quiet that they were paying comedian Hape Kerkeling to fill a weblog for VW as Horst Schlämmer - and achieve great success with it. Kerkeling's fictional character quickly became a hit with his "I'm getting my driver's license now". The deputy editor-in-chief of a provincial newspaper played by Kerkeling regularly publishes short films in which, for example, he wants to buy a car or sits in a driving school car for the first time with his driving instructor. Schlämmer often praises this very car - a VW Golf.
The blog would hardly have become so iconic if it had been clear from the start that it was advertising. Those responsible at Volkswagen seem to know this. They initially reacted hesitantly to an inquiry from the Süddeutsche Zeitung and postponed the answer with reference to specialist departments. Then the company praised itself at length for this "viral idea": "Volkswagen has staged an innovative marketing campaign of this kind for the first time and, with Horst Schlämmer as one of Germany's most popular and best-known comedians, has implemented it perfectly so far." Whether this calculation will continue to work out is unclear. If it is clear that it is just a funny ad, readers on the Internet will probably react accordingly.
For almost four weeks, it was kept quiet that they were paying comedian Hape Kerkeling to fill a weblog for VW as Horst Schlämmer - and achieve great success with it. Kerkeling's fictional character quickly became a hit with his "I'm getting my driver's license now". The deputy editor-in-chief of a provincial newspaper played by Kerkeling regularly publishes short films in which, for example, he wants to buy a car or sits in a driving school car for the first time with his driving instructor. Schlämmer often praises this very car - a VW Golf.
The blog would hardly have become so iconic if it had been clear from the start that it was advertising. Those responsible at Volkswagen seem to know this. They initially reacted hesitantly to an inquiry from the Süddeutsche Zeitung and postponed the answer with reference to specialist departments. Then the company praised itself at length for this "viral idea": "Volkswagen has staged an innovative marketing campaign of this kind for the first time and, with Horst Schlämmer as one of Germany's most popular and best-known comedians, has implemented it perfectly so far." Whether this calculation will continue to work out is unclear. If it is clear that it is just a funny ad, readers on the Internet will probably react accordingly.
