If a stairway was turned into a piano keyboard that actually played notes when you walked on it, would more people use it? Yes! In a novel social experiment in Sweden, 66% more people used the stairs instead of the escalator because it was more fun.
No, this is not a piece of public art, or social research. It's a very clever marketing campaign for Volkswagen. Yes - they sell cars. Please explain!
Viral/social/web marketing is hit and miss, right? Getting your video seen by millions on YouTube is harder than getting a camel to pass...you know the rest.
So VW's ad agency devised a social marketing campaign built around the concept that, if you make something fun, more people will do it. Turning a train station stairway into a piano that actually plays notes might seem a world away from VW's ultimate goal, but as a high-profile element of an integrated marketing strategy that includes other gags, a website called The Fun Theory and an anyone-can-enter competition, it drives brand recognition of Volkswagen as the company whose enviro-friendly cars will be more FUN to drive than anybody else's. It's genius.
For more on the piano stairs, and the whole campaign, go to "the fun theory"
photo above by kj.vogelius
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