On November 12, 2015, the Internal Branding Academy (IBA) & the Strategy Communication Institute (SCI) honored outstanding projects in the categories of strategy and branding for the seventh time. The eight-member jury awarded the coveted ‘Flying Egg’ (Fleggy) to renowned companies from Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Michael Witt, Recruiter at Voith Industrial Services, was awarded the ‘golden Fleggy’ in the category of ‘Branding small’ for his comic-style trainee bus project.

The colorful bus with detailed illustrations offers many interactive features. The industrial services provider used the bus to increase the number of qualified applicants for apprenticeships in the fields of metal construction and electronics in the Ingolstadt area. Besides that, the industrial services provider’s aim was to address and mobilize additional stakeholders in the educational environment, i.e., parents, schools, the Chamber of Commerce, a professional association and the city of Ingolstadt.

Since Voith Industrial Services is actively involved in the automotive value chain, it chose as vehicle signage a disguised layout, as used in the automotive industry. As stylistic device, a ‘busy picture’ describing typical steps an apprentice has to take until the apprenticeship is completed was chosen. Through the use of QR codes and augmented reality on the bus interested persons can get directly to a dedicated website where the story goes on. Supporting measures included press and public relations activities, Google AdWords campaigns and events.

The comic-style trainee bus generated a great deal of public interest and was a great success for the industrial services provider who received twice as many applications as before. Finally, all apprenticeship positions in that area were filled. “We are very pleased that our innovative concept has been awarded with the golden Fleggy. The whole project team is very proud and it shows our excellent collaboration with the Ingolstadt site”, says Michael Witt.

About Voith Industrial Services:
Voith Industrial Services, a Group Division of Voith GmbH, is one of the leading providers of technical services for key industries such as the automotive, energy, chemical and petrochemical industries and of engineering services. In 2013/2014, the company generated sales of €1.18 billion with about 18,500 employees at its more than 170 locations worldwide.