Volvo makes music out of door slams to reach younger buyers

Volvo Cars' bestselling XC60 crossover has a problem — it has the oldest customer body of any Volvo model.

XC60 customers are 55 years old, or about five years older than the Volvo brand's average.

To introduce the midsize crossover to younger buyers, the Swedish automaker has collaborated with YouTuber Andrew Huang. The Canadian content creator has produced a video that is a soundtrack of vehicle sounds — clicking seat belts, blinking headlights, shutting doors and swiveling mirrors — blended into a techno track.

The 1:05-minute YouTube video also serves as product marketing, highlighting the vehicle's swipe-based sunroof controls, Google-based infotainment system and air purifier.

Volvo Car USA marketing boss Leigh Moynihan said market research shows XC60 shoppers are design-focused and technology-focused.

"We wanted an opportunity to see if we could create a new piece for XC60 that could introduce our audience in a new and engaging way to the different features of the car," Moynihan told Automotive News.

The XC60, which competes with the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC, accounted for more than a third of Volvo's U.S. sales last year, or 41,582 vehicles.

Moynihan said Huang's 2.3 million YouTube channel subscribers give Volvo access to a demographic target market of 25- to 44-year-olds. Huang's subscribers are between 25 and 34 years old.

"It gives us that opportunity to hit the sweet spot in a way that's entertaining," Moynihan said. "We're constantly challenging our media partners to bring us opportunities and new ways to reach our audiences."

The collaboration includes a behind-the-scenes-look video in which Huang and producer Keeley Bumford show viewers how they "made a banger out of car sounds."

"The trunk sounded really dynamic because it's one of those hydraulic closing things," Bumford said in the video. "So we decided that it made sense to close the beat with the closing of the trunk."

The video makes the product the hero while "giving a ton of latitude to the creator in terms of how they bring the product story to life," Moynihan said.

"There are a lot of really amazing features within the vehicle that we want to introduce younger audiences to," she said. "It [allows] us to help change the perception of the Volvo brand."

Automakers view YouTube as a powerful platform to market to the next generation of customers. With more than 14 billion monthly visits, the Google-owned video service is the second-most-visited website with males ages 25 to 34, accounting for YouTube's biggest demographic, at 11.6 percent.

It's no wonder advertisers are pouring marketing dollars into YouTube ads and content. The platform's global ad revenue was $28 billion in 2021, up 46 percent from the year before.

Social channels are attractive marketing platforms for automakers because of the ability to target specific audiences and the level of engagement these channels can bring.

Influencer-generated content delivers a preexisting audience and allows the automaker to capitalize on the creator's brand, said Bill Daddi, president of New York marketing company Daddi Brand Communications.

"The objective here is to build equity by taking advantage of the image and personas that influencers have established with their audience," Daddi said. "So the activation needs to be organic and align with what audiences expect from these creators."

The YouTube format allows brands to be more creative with content than a typical 30-second TV commercial.

Moynihan said YouTube offers a "great opportunity" for consumers to dive deep, watching product reviews and exploring vehicle features and technologies.

Volvo said it will use Google's analytics platform to track viewer reaction to the XC60 video, which will help it fine-tune production marketing.

"It's an opportunity to see where consumer interest lies," Moynihan said. "We have plans to test out whether or not consumers are responding more favorably to the design aspects of the car versus technology."