/EINPresswire.com/ -- TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - February 01, 2017) - Volkswagen®, the world's second-largest automaker, and Rooftop Agency, Cultural / Lifestyle specialists, have teamed up to release short documentaries focused on bringing the vehicles personalities to life by pairing them with like minded influencers in the digital environment.

"This is a very exciting product launch for us!" says Jordan Gracey, Manager, Digital Marketing, Volkswagen® Canada. The SportWagen™ with 4MOTION® AWD is a great new addition to our line-up and a great option for active families or weekend warriors who may want to load up the car and find some adventure. The car drives unlike any sport utility or family vehicle out there -- but how do you communicate that to audiences? We thought the best way to do this was to find influencers who could test the cars limits, showcase the amazing capabilities and show that a family vehicle can also be a fun drive!"

What separates these campaigns is how they're built vs. traditional models today that pair a brand with a database or algorithm. For Rooftop going in a different direction was important for both credibility and to ensure when consumers peeled back the layers of the campaign they kept finding real authentic brand synergies.

"We've always engaged the influencer, or in this case the athlete, at the beginning of the creative process. By collaborating with them on co-writing the story they feel invested every step of the way," details Dave Videka, President, Rooftop Agency. "Each of these campaigns generate in the neighbourhood of 150 pieces of custom content so it's integral that the influencers are part of this process."

"We all come from the entertainment world in one way or another," continues Videka. "It means we have special relationships with brands and influencers that allow us to build authentic synergies and partnerships -- whether it's being granted access, creating custom content, developing and buying lifestyle advertising, or facilitating a profitable sponsorship. It's who you work with, and how you work with them that lends credibility and campaign longevity."

The latest documentary features one the most influential and biggest mountain bike athletes in the world, Cam McCaul. Recently semi-retired from competition, Cam has become the voice of Mountain Biking as he transitions into the 2nd phase of his professional career. The attraction was the balance between his personal life, a father of two, and professional life, escaping to ride and do industry leading tricks. That balance between dad and athlete made him the perfect fit for the all-new Golf® SportWagen Alltrack™ 4MOTION® & roomy for family outings while built for off-roading and handling with its All-Wheel drive capabilities.

"We build deep rooted campaigns that include their network of supporters -- sponsors, partners, other athletes or influencers," continues Videka. "Anyone that is invested in the influencers long-term success is involved in bringing a project like this to life. In Cam's case we partnered with his champions, Trek Bikes, Sony Action Cam, Rockstar Energy, Shimano, Fox Clothing, PinkBike and a number of other key brands that bring his community together by providing them custom content to compliment their audiences."

The first documentary teamed professional surfer Noah Cohen and the sporty Volkswagen® Tiguan compact SUV. The story follows Noah along with his two best friends, as they head out on an unknown road trip across Vancouver Island blindly choosing hidden roads & setting up camp. The content had a 30% view rate generated from 330,000 views of the main documentary, 510,000 views of the 3 mini teasers, and overall garnered 5.25 million online impressions during the 6 week campaign. The mini teasers were featured via media partners Sportsnet, Surf Canada and BC Travel Magazine. Each teaser was custom built for that outlets audience and included support interviews, page takeovers, features and exclusive social content from the trip.

About Volkswagen
Founded in 1952, Volkswagen Canada is headquartered in Ajax, Ontario. It is the largest volume European automotive nameplate in Canada, and sells the Golf, Golf SportWagen, Golf GTI, Golf R, Beetle, Jetta, Passat, CC, Atlas, Tiguan, and Touareg through 139 independent Canadian Dealers. It forms part of Volkswagen Group Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany.

Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and is Europe's largest automaker.

Visit Volkswagen Canada online at www.VW.ca

About Rooftop Agency:
Rooftop Agency is a Cultural agency based in Toronto. Founded in 2010, Rooftop seamlessly works with brand teams & agencies to help position their conversations with millennials by integrating Lifestyle & Content programming into their strategic planning. Rooftop specialize in Consumer Insight, Content and Customization.

Visit Rooftop Agency online at rooftopagency.com

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