IMI International Volkswagen Brand Health: The Impact & Aftermath

IMI International © Copyright 2015 not for reproduction without consent
An Evaluation from September 1 to October 20st, 2015.
VOLKSWAGEN - BRAND HEALTH
THE IMPACT AND AFTERMATH

IMI International © Copyright 2015 not for reproduction without consentIMI International © Copyright 2015 not for reproduction without consent
BACKGROUND
IMI International is committed to understand the impact of events on the
intentions and emotions of people. We capture this emotional link to
brands in the hearts of consumers - to isolate and identify the a) intensity
b) velocity c) sentiment and d) best practices for impact/recovery.
Example of this include the positive emotional link people have to the
Olympics or FIFA World Cup or the negative impact of events like Listeria
Outbreak or the BP Oil Disaster.
2

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IMI International does not satisfy the
objective defined in the agreed-to
proposal, the project will be
refunded in full.
Commitment To Excellence
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Consultants
Clients
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Per year
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& Action Standards
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Case Studies
POD

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THE OVERVIEW

IMI International © Copyright 2015 not for reproduction without consent 6
What we see today
VW can recover in time, but took a
big hit with 42MM+ consumers in
North America who provided
unaided negative reactions when
prompted with the brand.
In the aftermath of the scandal,
negativity was as top of mind as
VW’s long-standing brand
cornerstones (safety, quality).
In the U.S., as many consumers felt
VW was a company “they no longer
trust” as felt VW is a “great
company” (a 1:1 ratio) – while
Toyota’s ratio was 1:5 in the positive
direction.
On Sept 18th at 12:09 a single
tweet reached an est. 1.1MM
impressions contributing to an
explosion of conversation online.
Twitter mentions increased 2,334%
from Sept 17th to the 22nd.
As of October 20th, North Americans
were 2-5X as negative about VW
than their competition.
While the majority, 36% of
mentions, took place in the USA this
is a global, emotional conversation
with mentions seen across 147
countries.

Timeline of Work
7
IMI 24™
Wave 1
OCT
1 - 5
IMI 24™
Wave 2
OCT
19
IMI Social Pulse
Window Closes
OCT
13
Volkswagen
Announcement
SEPT
18
IMI Social Pulse
Window Opens
SEPT
1
Unaided thoughts of
VW: Canada/USA
Aided Brand
Perception
Capture Sentiment,
Size and Velocity
Competitive
Context with Toyota

UNAIDED: WHAT AMERICANS /
CANADIANS THINK OF VW/VOLKSWAGEN?
October 1-5th, 2015
8

Negative Unaided Perception…
When I think of Volkswagen, the three things that come to mind are…
42,000,000+
People 18-65 Years old
Source: IMI 24™ : Oct 1-5, 2015: N=500+ 9
Emissions
Fraud
Cheat
Scandal
Untrustworthy
Liars Fake
Pollution
Scam
Unreliable
Corrupt
Criminal
“ ”

3 Words American’s use to Describe Volkswagen
Unaided – October 1st, 2015 : USA
10
‘Corrupt, Scandal, Emissions,
Fraud, Fake, Liar, Criminal’
38.5MM Americans
Q: When I think of Volkswagen, the three things that come to mind are…

3 Words Canadian’s use to Describe Volkswagen
Unaided – October 5th, 2015
11
‘Cheat, Scandal, Liars, Fraud,
Emissions, Pollution, Scam, Unreliable,
Corrupt, Criminal, Untrustworthy’
3.93 Million Canadians
Q: When I think of Volkswagen, the three things that come to mind are…

AGREEMENT WITH
STATEMENTS ABOUT VW
12

Consumer Perception of VW in 3 Countries (US, UK, Canada)
13
Is a great
Company
A company I
no longer trust -18MM People
-13MM People
A company
committed to
doing ‘good’
A company
that only cares
about money

Consumers’ Agreement with the Statements About VW/Volkswagen
Source: IMI 24™: 18-65 Year old (October 19-20th, 2015) N=2150 People
I hope goes
bankrupt
A brand I will
never buy
A company
that only cares
about money
A company I
no longer trust
A company
committed to
doing ‘good’
Is a great
Company
THOUSANDS THOUSANDS THOUSANDS THOUSANDS THOUSANDS THOUSANDS
854 3,844 4,699 9,824 2,990 5,553
920 2,760 3,220 5,750 1,610 5,520
9,200 27,600 25,300 39,100 16,100 25,300
10,974 34,204 33,219 54,674 20,700 36,373
The VW Emission Scandal has significantly impaired the TRUST of over 50 Million, while
driving the GREED perception of 30,000,000 across North America and the United Kingdom.
TOTAL
14

PERCEPTION OF VW VS TOYOTA
15

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Comparing the perception of Toyota with VW in the USA
Is a great
Company
A company I
no longer trust
-500,000
+41,400,000

Agree with the Statements About Brands (VW vs. Toyota)
Source: IMI 24™: 18-65 Year old (October 19-20th, 2015) N=2150 People
I hope goes
bankrupt
A brand I will
never buy
A company
that only cares
about money
A company I
no longer trust
A company
committed to
doing ‘good’
Is a great
Company
THOUSANDS THOUSANDS THOUSANDS THOUSANDS THOUSANDS THOUSANDS
920 2,760 5,750 3,220 1,610 5,520
690 1,840 1,380 1,380 3,680 7,130
-230 -920 -4,370 -1,840 2,070 1,610
9,200 27,600 39,100 25,800 16,100 25,300
4,600 20,700 13,800 11,500 18,400 52,900
-4,600 -6,900 -25,300 -14,300 2,300 27,600
The VW Emission Scandal has significantly impaired the TRUST of tens of
millions, while driving the GREED perception of up to 30,000,000 North Americans.
17

IMI SOCIAL LISTENING
VW REALITIES
18

This is a global conversation.
Mentions originated from nearly 150 countries around the world.
19

IMI Social Listening Case Study Recap: Volkswagen Scandal Sept/Oct ‘15
•  September 18th 12:09pm a single tweet reaches an estimated 1.1mm impressions with 50% of the activity
within the first 95 minutes.
•  While the majority, 36% of mentions, took place in the USA (the country who launched the accusations) this is a
global conversation with mentions seen across 147 countries.
•  Social Snapshot September 1st – October 13th. 740,424 Total mentions with a 2,334% increase
in Twitter conversation from the 17th to the 22nd alone. Over 413k contributors have
taken part in the discussion so far, with nearly 3 in 4 mentions by men.
•  In the month following the EPA accusations, tweets directed toward the
@Volkswagen handle increased 725%.
•  This is personal. Twitter sentiment analysis revealed an emotional conversation
centered around feelings of disappointment and betrayal from a highly trusted brand.
20

29
11,717
32,346
67,697
65,286
53,381
35,964
VW Social Listening Snapshot September 1 – October 13, 2015
TWITTER MENTIONS OVER TIME TWITTER GEO
TWITTER WORDCLOUD TWITTER DEMOS
740,424 TOTAL MENTIONS
TWITTER REACH
Twitter 561.7k
News 117,150
Forums 45,469
Blogs 16,125
76%
72%
27%
78.3%
417,633 Contributors
@Reply
Re-tweets
Regular Tweet
TWEET TYPES
73%
25%
1%
1 Tweet
81%
USA
UK
India
Canada
Other
SEPT 1 OCT 13SEPT 18
+404%
From Sept 17
to Sept 18
+2334%
From Sept 17
to Sept 22
21

In the month following the announcement, outreach to the brand handle
increased 725% with a significant shift in the conversation.
22
AUG
17
SEPT
17
SEPT
18
OCT
14
3,481480
PRE-SCANDAL POST-SCANDAL BREAKING
Tweets sent to @Volkswagen

What are Customers Saying?
23

This is personal.
Bummed
Very disappointed
Sad
Let down
Fraud & Greed
Tricked
Thought they were better
Government Lies too.
Scandal
Don’t want to be seen
supporting this brand.
Very sad
24

Time since original tweet
1 min
10 min
1 Hr
6 Hrs
Day
Month
Wk
1 min
Month
News Travels Fast: September 18th 12:09pm
733 Re-tweets 1.1mm Est Imp. 50% Of Amplification within 95 mins
RANK RE-TWEETERS SPREAD REACH TIME
1 @ggreeneva 293 1,101,329 0 mins
2 @thegrugg 67 152,802 18 mins
3 @BenedictEvans 48 171,135 15 mins
4 @dakami 34 248,337 15 mins
5 @mattdpearce 20 76,550 3 mins
25
Original
Tweet
Re-Tweets
Digital comms guy. Alum of @TheDemocrats & @SmootTewesGroup,
Deep South expat, kitchen nerd. Views my own; RTs & faves ≠
endorsements.
Washington, D.C. | Joined February 2007 | 5,094 Followers

PEOPLE WENT OUT OF THEIR
WAY TO CUSTOMIZE CONTENT
26

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.@VW, very dissappointing this is. Sad to
see you've turned to the Dark Side,
again.. #vwdarkside #VW
344 263
- @Greenpeace_De

NEXT STEPS
IMI will continue to monitor and integrate information in the
coming months/year, including
a)  Continued conversation
b)  Momentum of sentiment
c)  Longer term impact on trust
d)  Impact on actual car sales
e)  Impact on intended car purchasing.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
PLEASE CONTACT
dmayo@consultimi.com or sstovold@consultimi.com

IMI International Volkswagen Brand Health: The Impact & Aftermath

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