Volvo Car UK and Sky Atlantic is currently streaming its two-part series of short films exploring how sustainability is being considered behind the scenes in TV production. The ‘What Does the Future Look Like?’ series expands on the brands’ shared vision of climate action and sustainability by looking at production principles in their co-branded content. This forms the latest part of Volvo Car UK’s long-standing sponsorship of Sky Atlantic, which will now be renewed for a further two years. The series is broadcasting in line with this year’s COP26 Summit, which Sky was Principal Partner and Media Partner and it will feature in Sky’s Climate and Nature Collection On Demand.
The series intends to move the dial on conversations around sustainability, focusing on the issue within TV and entertainment. For Volvo, the short films mark its commitment to sustainability as a leading electric vehicle brand, and as a business – in line with its recently announced net-zero by 2040 target. With this series, Volvo delves deeper into its partnership with Sky, exploring new perceptions of what it means to take care of our planet, and how this can be actioned across industries.
Each episode in the series follows Sky Atlantic stylist Lydia and make-up artist Siobhan through their respective day’s work. During their days, both Lydia and Siobhan explore the ways they consider sustainability on set. For Lydia, this means focusing on using conscious methods of clothing consumption as a stylist, including visiting charity shops and using a clothing rental service. Meanwhile, Siobhan champions the use of cruelty-free make-up products on set and reducing her team’s contribution to the amount of plastic waste in a production.
A 30-second cut-down version of the shorts will run across linear TV. For the first time in a commercial partnership, viewers will be able to utilise Sky’s voice search function by saying ‘behind the show’ to reach the five-minute-long episodes, which will be hosted on Sky Atlantic VoD and Sky’s Climate and Nature Collection VoD hub. Similarly, a Social Sync campaign will use advanced targeted social media ads to link through to the long-form episodes hosted on the Sky TV YouTube channel. The innovative and creative series aims to engage with an eco-conscious audience who are likely to be considering purchasing an electric car in the near future.
The collaboration is a natural progression for Sky and Volvo Car UK as the brands announce the renewal of their near decade-long sponsorship on Sky Atlantic. As one of Sky Media’s largest deals across its entertainment channels, the renewal will see the production of more premium multi-platform content for Volvo Car UK utilising innovative tools such as Sky AdVance and voice search. The new two-year sponsorship will run until 2023.
Kristian Elvefors, Managing Director at Volvo Car UK, said, “At Volvo Cars, we have set a series of bold climate targets, including being a completely climate-neutral company by 2040. To help us achieve these targets, we are partnering with companies such as Sky Atlantic who share our sustainability vision and values. We are delighted to be working on this co-production and continuing our partnership for a further two years.”
Sarah Jones, Director of Planning at Sky Media, said, “Sky are committed to protecting our planet’s future and our latest research* shows the importance of TV in education and driving behavioural change. Volvo shares our ethos on the environment and this two-part branded series shines a light on what we’re doing behind-the-scenes to cut our carbon footprint, inspiring our viewers to change their behaviour too.”
Andrew Simmons, Client Director at Mindshare Invention, said, “We’re on a journey to bring the Volvo Cars and Sky Atlantic brands closer together than ever before, sharing in their mutual values and strength as change-makers. This partnership gives life to those shared ambitions, and continues to connect Marketing to Culture in a truly unique way that delivers great storytelling, meaningful scale and best-in-class performance.”
*Behaviour change on climate can be driven by TV, says Sky
Watch episode one and two below.