What it had to solve
Volvo Car Australia asked Graffiti for a brand experience for the EX30 launch that reached EV-curious people outside the showroom, on their terms.
The idea
Replace the static car display with a custom tiny house that shows the EX30's minimalist, sustainable ethos, then give the house a second life as a rental.
How it works
Graffiti built a Scandinavian-inspired tiny house with renewable and recycled materials echoing the EX30's interior, from the sound system and sofa fabrics to paint and lighting. It toured CBD sites in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, captured leads, and moved to the Blue Mountains.
What it did
No sales or visitor numbers were reported. The house now lives on as a bookable retreat in regional NSW via Into the Wild Escapes, and visitors could win a weekend there with an EX30 for the drive.
Background
For the Australian launch of the Volvo EX30, Volvo Car Australia invited Melbourne brand experience agency Graffiti to show that the heritage carmaker treats sustainability as seriously as safety. The answer was 'The Small Life by Volvo', a custom-built, Scandinavian-inspired tiny house that replaced the usual static vehicle display.
The house was pitched at EV-curious people who want to escape city life with off-grid getaways. Its sound system, sofa fabrics, paint colours and lighting used renewable and recycled materials chosen to echo the EX30's interior, so visitors absorbed the car's minimalist luxury before stepping into it.
After turning heads in major CBD locations in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney, the house was headed for the Blue Mountains, where tiny house platform Into the Wild Escapes would offer it as a bookable retreat. Visitors could enter to win a weekend there, with an EX30 for the drive.
Why it lands
It put the sustainability claim in a building people could walk through instead of a spec sheet.
Re-using the structure as a rental made the activation itself an example of sustainability.
The competition and lead capture gave Volvo a lasting way to follow up with a new audience.
What you can take
An activation that outlives its tour, here a house that becomes a rental, proves a sustainability claim better than a one-off stand does.
Since then
The house was on its way to its permanent site in the Blue Mountains when reported, ready for the competition winners. The activation was the latest in an ongoing partnership between Graffiti and Volvo Car Australia.
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