The Wondering Brit

When I first reported that Volvo Trucks were giving away free leather jackets as part of there ‘Worlds Strongest Truck’ promotion, not only was I astounded at the global hits I recieved on this site, but Volvo themselves could not believe the popularity of the promotion and number of global players.

As such they are continuing this promotion with a newly updated game…

Here is what Volvo have said about it…

In January, in conjunction with the launch of the world’s strongest truck, the Volvo FH16 700, Volvo Trucks introduced strongesttruck.com – a game site where players can compete for prizes by operating a truck in the virtual world. To date 1.2 million unique visitors from across the globe have played on the site. A new level of the game is now available.

 “After two months 1.2 million unique visitors is a sensationally high figure. Each visitor plays the game an average of four times. The total playing time is currently eighteen years,” says Niclas Hermansson, digital media communications strategist at Volvo Trucks.

Biggest success ever
“This is the biggest success I’ve ever seen for an online game,” comments Magnus Alm at Muskedunder, who developed the game for Volvo Trucks. “I’ve got several global launches under my belt, but nothing beats this.”

Self-marketing game
Remarkably, Volvo Trucks reached such a wide public without incurring any media costs. The game has been self-marketing, and has reached far beyond the traditional target groups such as truck owners and drivers. The game has been discussed on blogs and forums, and has generated so much interest that over 650 independent game portals have chosen to promote it.

Positive brand experience
By creating an absorbing and entertaining game, Volvo Trucks has reached a new audience worldwide, who has received a positive experience of the Volvo brand and learned more about the company and its products.

Worth many millions
“It would have cost several hundred thousand euros to achieve the same effect through paid media,” says Johan Steen, Senior Account Manager at Carat Sverige AB, one of Sweden’s leading media agencies. “What’s most impressive is the time spent by each unique visitor at the site – seven minutes on average.”

The next level of strongestruck.com is now launched, featuring new environments and spectacular new and entertaining driving assignments – something that many players have requested. Every two weeks a new winner is announced, and he or she receives a prize in the form of an exclusive leather jacket from Volvo’s own FH16 collection.
The competition will continue until the end of May. The web address is http://www.strongesttruck.com/