Client: Volkswagen Cars: How the Academy got its STRIPES

The Volkswagen Academy experience 
Background to the brief

Since Woodreed’s appointment as the Academy’s communications agency, a new identity and voice has been developed and the Academy experience is now truly aligned with Volkswagen’s wider brand ambition.

This is evident as follows:

S for Senior, middle and lower management living the brand – the brand management and leadership programme ensures Volkswagen leads from the front when it comes to living the brand

T for Training - From the manager’s prospectus through to every stage of an employee’s contact with the Academy they enjoy a unified and truly aligned brand experience

R for Recruitment - The comprehensive recruitment service offered by the Academy takes the onus off the retail manager and makes sure all candidates, successful or otherwise enjoy a consistent Volkswagen brand experience from the start

I for Induction - Every new joiner receives a branded induction pack to encourage them to Think Share Achieve. The pack includes credit-card reminder of the Volkswagen ambition, mindset and five priorities; a jargon-buster, an induction checklist and a training passport which employees keep throughout their career

P for Performance - Each area of the business has its own qualification pathway.  Once completed, the successful candidate enjoys reward and recognition consistent with the brand - an internationally recognized Certificate of Achievement presented in front of their peers at the worldwide headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany

E for Employee Engagement - The annual employee satisfaction survey undertaken by the Academy measures employee engagement and importantly feeds back and shares the results and arising actions with all retailers across the network

S for Synergy - The Volkswagen Academy is an internal communications programme with brand at its heart, perfectly aligned with Volkswagen’s external comms – a powerful example of inside out thinking for brands in action