A confident launch for Volkswagen’s benefits portal

The challenge

Volkswagen Group UK needed to make a bold impression with the launch of their new employee benefits portal and drive maximum engagement during the annual two-week benefits selection window.

Colleagues were required to log in, review their personal and benefits information and make selections for the upcoming year. With a tight timeline and a company-wide audience, the campaign had to grab attention quickly – with a clear call to action and a strong sense of urgency.

The solution

As long-standing internal communications partners to Volkswagen Group UK, we understood the importance of the benefits scheme, and how this campaign needed to firstly educate, then inspire action. We began by crafting a bold visual identity for the new portal, inspired by the concept of a data dashboard. This flowed into striking campaign visuals that made the benefits window impossible to ignore. The campaign unfolded in two phases – pre-launch and live:

1) Pre-launch: We sparked interest and encouraged colleagues to start thinking about their benefits for the upcoming year. A central intranet hub featured engaging articles and videos, while posters, table talkers and digital signage across all sites drove traffic to the intranet.

2) Live: We then shifted gears to drive direct action and prompt engagement. Campaign messaging pointed colleagues straight to the platform and a prominent digital countdown on the intranet homepage built urgency. We also placed striking table talkers with QR codes in restaurants, meeting rooms and at coffee stations to spark conversations where colleagues came together. Long-form ‘Why do you need…?’ guides explained the more complex benefits.

Every touchpoint reinforced the value of the benefits scheme and how colleagues were able to personalise their package based on what mattered most to them and their loved ones.

The results

  • 21% of all colleagues logged in within the first hour of the portal launch. 
  • By 3pm on day two, 50% of all colleagues had logged in. 
  • By the end of the two-week window, 80% of all colleagues had logged in to the portal. 

“We had a great start to the campaign, with strong creative from 44 Communications helping to bring it to life. That, along with solid stakeholder engagement and standout promotion, really helped drive an impressive 80% colleague log-in rate during the two-week window.”

Volkswagen Group UK, Finance and Compliance Manager