Live Communication 79 | SunMatrix Ramble

Volkswagen Polo GTI: Fast Lane

Fast Lane: turning routine into a shortcut you choose

Volkswagen is soon going to launch its new Polo GTI. To create awareness and generate buzz, it built a “Fast Lane” in subways, malls and elevators around Germany, dedicated to everyone who likes to go beyond the regular, who is curious for new stuff, and who enjoys speeding it all up a little.

How it works: add a faster option that feels like play

The mechanism is simple. Place an obvious “normal” route next to an unexpected alternative that is quicker and more fun. Then let people self-select into it. The viewer controls the switch by choosing the fast lane, and that choice becomes the story.

In German urban commuting environments, small design changes in high-footfall spaces can shift behaviour quickly because routine is strong and the contrast is instantly visible.

Fast Lane 1: The Slide

Long staircase. Next to it a slide. Which way would you go?

Fast Lane 2: The Shopping Carts

Some carts are pimped with a skateboard. Up for some extra shopping fun?

Fast Lane 3: The Elevator

A sound system turns the ride into a rocket take-off. Welcome on-board.

Why it lands: speed becomes a feeling, not a spec

The campaign does not explain performance. It lets people experience a mindset. Faster. Lighter. A little rebellious. Each execution creates a moment where the “fast” choice feels like a reward, not just efficiency.

The business intent: borrow everyday behaviour as proof

For a GTI launch, “fast” can easily become generic language. Fast Lane makes it concrete. It attaches the idea of speed to real-world micro-decisions, and turns the resulting participation into shareable proof that travels beyond the physical placements.

What to steal if you want to turn a feature into a behaviour

Build the contrast into the environment. Normal route next to the fun shortcut.
Make the faster choice self-evident. People should understand it in one glance.
Let viewer control do the persuasion. Choosing it is more convincing than being told.
Create a story per location. Each execution is a complete, watchable moment on its own.

A few fast answers before you act

What is Volkswagen’s “Fast Lane” for the Polo GTI?

A set of playful public-space installations (slide, skate carts, rocket-sound elevator) that let people choose a “faster” option, designed to build buzz for the Polo GTI.

What is the core mechanism?

Put a normal route next to an unexpected shortcut that is quicker and more fun. People self-select, and the choice becomes the story.

Why does this work better than talking about performance specs?

It turns “fast” into a felt experience. Participation makes the feature believable without needing explanation.

What business intent does it serve?

It makes the GTI’s positioning concrete and talkable, then relies on the resulting participation moments to travel beyond the physical placements.

What is the most transferable takeaway?

If you want people to believe a feature, design a situation where they can choose it and feel it, not just read about it.

Caixa and Benfica: Pitch Invasion

A sponsorship story told on the pitch

In European football sponsorships, the hardest part is making a partnership feel like more than a logo. Caixa and Benfica used a live stadium moment to do exactly that.

Here is a video case study of a first of it’s kind football pitch invasion created to promote the partnership between the biggest Portuguese bank, Caixa, and Portugal’s biggest football club, Benfica.

How the pitch invasion became the activation

The mechanism was direct. Take something normally forbidden and tightly controlled. A pitch invasion. Then redesign it as a planned experience connected to the partnership.

That shift matters because it turns the “unthinkable” into a sanctioned moment. The pitch itself becomes the media channel, and the stadium becomes a stage the audience remembers.

Why it lands in a football context

Football already runs on emotion, tribal identity, and the feeling of being part of something bigger than yourself.

Letting people cross the boundary from stands to pitch collapses distance between fans and club. It creates belonging. It also creates a story worth retelling because it looks and feels like a once-in-a-lifetime exception.

The business intent behind the spectacle

The intent was to make the Caixa and Benfica partnership feel lived, not announced.

A bank does not naturally belong in the middle of football culture. This activation borrowed the club’s emotional intensity and translated sponsorship into an experience that fans would associate with the partnership itself.

What to steal for your next sponsorship activation

Turn the asset into an experience. If you sponsor something, find a way to let people physically engage with it.
Use controlled rule-breaking. A “forbidden” behavior becomes powerful when it is safely redesigned and permitted.
Build a moment that photographs itself. Stadium-scale actions create natural documentation and sharing.
Make the brand the enabler. The partnership should feel like it unlocked access, not like it bought attention.

A few fast answers before you act

What was the Caixa and Benfica activation?

A planned football pitch invasion designed as a promotional moment to support the Caixa and Benfica partnership, documented in a video case study.

What was the core mechanism?

Reframe a normally prohibited act. Entering the pitch. As a controlled, brand-enabled experience tied to the partnership.

Why does this idea work particularly well in football?

Because football is built on belonging and emotion. Letting fans step onto the pitch creates a memorable boundary-crossing moment.

What sponsorship goal did this support?

Making the partnership feel culturally meaningful and fan-relevant, not just visually present through branding.

What is the main takeaway for sponsors?

Create access and participation that feels exceptional. If fans feel the partnership unlocked something real, the brand association sticks.

Mercedes-Benz: Flying Car

Mercedes-Benz, with the help of Ponto de Criacao from Brazil, executed a highly segmented vertical action to increase visibility for the brand among top executives and business people. Stickers of the SLS AMG, also known as “gull wing”, a new edition of the brand’s iconic model, were stuck to windows in shuttle flights frequently used by the target audience.

As a courtesy, passengers also received a miniature car.

In one month, 100% of the target audience was reached, nearly 400 executives.

Why this placement is so effective

Context does the work. The illusion only makes sense in-flight, which turns a standard window view into a brand moment.
Precision beats scale. Shuttle flights concentrate the exact audience Mercedes-Benz wanted, without wasting impressions.
Low friction, high memorability. A simple sticker creates an instant “did you see that?” effect, then the miniature car extends the memory.

What to take from it

When the audience is narrow and valuable, distribution can be the idea. This activation did not rely on complex tech. It relied on selecting the right corridor, placing the message where attention is naturally high, and creating a visual that feels native to the moment.

A few fast answers before you act

What was “Flying Car” by Mercedes-Benz?

It was a targeted activation that placed SLS AMG window stickers on shuttle flights, creating the illusion of the car “flying” outside the aircraft window for executive travelers.

Why use shuttle flights for this?

Because those routes clustered top executives and business travelers, delivering near-perfect audience fit with minimal wasted reach.

What role did the miniature car play?

It extended the experience beyond the flight as a physical takeaway, reinforcing recall after the moment passed.

What is the transferable pattern?

Pick a narrow, high-value corridor, design a context-native visual that only works there, then add a small physical extension to carry the memory forward.