Volkswagen teams up with influencer TGE, aka Tom Exton on Forza Horizon 4
- Over 2,000 cars given away in the game during first meet
- During meet-up fans were able to ask TGE questions
- Final meet-up will take place on Sunday 7 June
Milton Keynes – Volkswagen has teamed up with influencer TGE, aka Tom Exton, to organise a series of online meet-ups in the video game Forza Horizon 4. Over the course of the first three meet-ups almost 5,000 virtual Volkswagen cars were given away in-game to participants while over 33,000 people watched the livestream.
While people have been in lockdown and unable to drive their Volkswagens for pleasure, the Volkswagen UK Marketing team came up with the idea of enabling Volkswagen fans to meet in the virtual world. As part of a series of ‘Volkswagen Virtual Treffens’ gamers could go for a drive online and show their cars to each other. The popular racing simulator Forza Horizon 4 was used as it offers over 16 Volkswagen models from past and present while the game environment is a re-creation of parts of the UK.
The London-based automotive and lifestyle influencer TGE, real name Tom Exton, was chosen to host the meet-ups. TGE is a Volkswagen fan himself and has owned a Golf GTI Mk 7. His own social media following is made up of many Volkswagen followers. The first meet-up took place on Sunday 17 May and fans joining in were gifted an exclusive in-game ID.R – Volkswagen’s record-breaking electric race car – with over 2,000 given away.
There have been subsequent meets on Sunday 24 and Sunday 31 May, where Karman Ghias and Rallycross Beetles were given to those participating. In total just under 5,000 cars were given away in the game and over 33,000 viewed the livestream where they could listen to the commentary as TGE answered players’ questions.
Multiple groups of 12 attended each event in the virtual environment, where they were able to race through the virtual UK scenery before meeting and parking up at a beauty spot. Once there, a photographer used the in-game photo mode to capture images of the various Volkswagen meets. In the game all the vehicles are photo-realistic and fully customisable, providing an eclectic mix of Volkswagens at each meet-up.
The final meet-up in this series will take place on Sunday 7 June at 20:00h BST on Forza Horizon 4 with TGE. His Xbox gamertag is TGE LDNM and the livestream can be viewed on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/tgetv
Speaking about the partnership, TGE said: “During a time of uncertainty and with many feeling a bit more isolated at home, it’s been great to not only connect with followers of Volkswagen, but also to involve everyone wherever they are in something fun and positive every week.”
Katie Blesovsky, Social Media Communications Manager at Volkswagen UK, said “During the UK’s lockdown video game sales have soared, and the number of adults playing video games has risen dramatically too. We know that many of our customers and fans are also gamers, often live in urban areas and are likely to be feeling the effects of the lockdown most.
“We wanted to provide a way for them to experience the thrill of driving a Volkswagen but from home and during lockdown. With TGE and Forza Horizon 4 we’ve found a way to entertain people during these challenging times and the response has been amazing. We will be exploring opportunities for even more exciting activities like these in the future.”
