The dentsu drive for greatness takes Polestar to the Effie Awards shortlist

Polestar, the new poster kid of electric cars, made significant tracks in its first year on the Finnish market – something we, at dentsu Finland, have been very proud to be involved in. This work has now culminated in a shortlisting for a prestigious Effie award in the Products & Service category.

When Polestar arrived in Finland in 2021, the challenge was big: disrupting a market dominated by well-established and trusted players. Polestar is here to re-invent the rule book when it comes to selling cars – dentsu’s insight was to focus on maximizing test drives, relying on data that shows it to be the pivotal ingredient in making a car sale. Test driving a Polestar was to become easily accessible wherever you are in Finland and a luxurious zero sales experience that would sell the car by itself. A frictionless online purchasing path seals the deal – no sleazy car salesman in sight.

As a result of this approach, Polestar went from zero market share in premium electric vehicles to an impressive 14% in just one year.

For Mika Karpoff, experiential projects director at dentsu Finland, it is a huge buzz to have been able to help a brand like Polestar achieve such rapid growth.

He said: “It is a rare chance to help bring a new brand into a highly competitive market where there are the clear market leaders. We got the amazing opportunity to help build brand awareness and see the fruits of our work.

“When we were planning the Polestar Experience we knew that we would have to do things differently from everyone else. Do things to get people not only talking but also to experience the car and brand.

“We had our media team to aggressively support this creative, data-driven concept and the experiential projects – this was a key ingredient in our success.

“It feels fantastic that our work with Polestar has been recognized by being shortlisted for an Effie Award.”

Martin Österberg, head of marketing and PR at Polestar, is one very happy client, pleased to see the hard work from the last 1.5 years recognized in this way.

He said: “Being nominated for an Effie award is a huge recognition of the effectiveness and success of our marketing communications and activities.

“Working with dentsu, a major global player, gives us exposure to a wide range of talent resources, insights and cross-market synergies. With the talented team in Finland, we have had everything covered from strategic media planning to search optimization and event planning.”

Österberg reveals the momentum for Polestar is set to keep gathering pace and gives us a sneak peek into the future: “Within seven years, we expect to see our first fully climate neutral car, without any carbon offsetting: Polestar 0. That is something to keep up the momentum for, for sure!

“Meanwhile  we have exciting year ahead of us with Polestar 3 being available for customers to experience, and events and collaborations in the pipeline that will further question the conventional.”   

The Effie Awards Gala is on 9 February. Watch this space!