Volvo Cars Safety in Mind

Insight

To understand how to keep people safe, we need to understand people.

Fifteen years ago, Volvo made a commitment: zero fatal injuries in their new cars by 2020, a goal yet to be reached even though their cars are safer than ever. Always the pioneer, this has led Volvo to reframe safety.

Idea

A future defined by software.

Volvo Cars and AKQA created the strategy behind the new Safety in Mind vision, defining the role that feeling safe plays in all our lives, to reframe what it means for the entire automotive industry.

The vision launched with a keynote set in a world inspired by Volvo Cars’ lidar, a key sensing technology that sees beyond the human range. Artful murmurations of lidar’s point cloud flock around CEO Jim Rowan as he announces the vision and the new applications of technology that will drive Volvo into the future. To better understand what’s outside the car, as well as the state of the driver inside.

A person stands on a brightly lit stage in a large studio, surrounded by cameras, lighting equipment, and crew members, with a screen displaying their image in the background.
A film crew works on a set with digital backgrounds; two people stand under studio lights, while a person monitors screens and equipment in the foreground. A large camera crane is also visible.

Built in Unreal Engine and filmed at the state-of-the-art LED ARRI volume stage, the software-driven launch mirrors that of Volvo Cars’ future.

Beyond bringing our new vision to life, AKQA has helped bring our future technology to life in an artful way. We’re proud to share these important future innovations for safety — that not only understand the world around us, but also how you feel inside.
- Mike Johnstone, Global Head of Marketing & Brand, Volvo Cars

Impact

The start of a new era, for safety and for Volvo Cars.

The live keynote premiered on YouTube and is followed over eight weeks with a series of innovation films that deep dive into each key technology, presented by the people behind them. Coupled with social, the launch nudges the audience to join Volvo Cars as they step into this new era, while teasing the imminent launch of their new fully electric flagship SUV, the Volvo EX90.

A collage of smartphone screens displaying abstract images of spheres on winding roads, paired with text such as “What if your car could steer you right?” and “What if your car could see beyond the human range?”.
This new era for Volvo Cars is an important next step that will redefine the future of safety connected to human behaviour. Brought to life through a strategy that sets us up for something truly meaningful. I’m proud of the shift we’ve set in motion.
- Olivia Ross-Wilson, Chief Communications Officer, Volvo Cars
  • Media PostVolvo introduces Safety In Mind to global audience ↘
  • Little Black BookVolvo’s immersive keynote sees the EX90 head into a new safety era ↘
  • Ads of the WorldVolvo: Understanding the human experience ↘

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