DOOH Advertising

Vauxhall taps Jolt urban DOOH to engage drivers, build trust

A DOOH application project, in collaboration with Jolt, a U.K. EV charging and DOOH network, is driving a positive uplift in brand perception and boosting the consumer trust factor for a U.K. automotive brand.

Photo: Jolt

August 20, 2025 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com

When Vauxhall Motors, which has been making vehicles in the U.K. since 1903, set out to drive awareness of its newest flagship SUV model, the Grandland Electric, it also had some other top goals in mind.

Vauxhall also wanted to change the narrative around EV ownership, making EV ownership approachable, practical and relevant.

So the U.K.'s best-selling electric light commercial vehicle manufacturer since 2021 embarked on a digital out of home campaign with an enticing offer to EV owners: a free charging opportunity.

To make it happen Vauxhall tapped Jolt, a U.K. sustainable EV charging and DOOH network, as its partner in the campaign which also had a goal to support Vauxhall's Electric Streets of Britain initiative. The initiative, launched prior to the DOOH campaign, supports the 40% of British households that don't have a driveway by boosting the number of accessible on-street charge points.

The DOOH campaign not only delivered on the quest to promote the Grandland Electric it reaped return on investment in several additional ways including a positive uplift in brand perception and boosting the consumer trust factor.

A DOOH campaign with a special ingredient

In its partnership with Jolt, Vauxhall deployed contextually relevant DOOH ads at 41 public charging sites across London in a month-long campaign. It launched at the start of February this year and ended on March 3.

Electric vehicle owners were offered free public charging at chargers positioned in places where people live, commute and shop. Essentially the campaign brought the Vauxhall brand into everyday public spaces and a charging stop became a brand-building moment, according to Vauxhall.

The offer of a free charging opportunity ran across digital screens during the average 62-minute charging session and promoted within the Jolt app.

Impressive ROI

The DOOH campaign approach transformed Jolt's EV charging stations into a dynamic media channel for Vauxhall with impressive results:

86% said the campaign made EV ownership feel more accessible.
66% would now consider a Vauxhall EV.
53% ad recall for the campaign.
77% uplift in purchase intent.
700-plus hours of branded app engagement with nearly four minutes spent per session, driven partly by calls to action and content delivered via the integrated strategy.
1.8% in-app click through rate, reflecting strong user interaction with the digital content.
The facilitation of 11,000-plus charging sessions, delivering 21,800-plus free miles.
The campaign page was among the most visited on Jolt's website with one in every 20 tracked clicks leading directly to 'visit Vauxhall.'
Among those who saw the ad, 72% said they now viewed Vauxhall as a brand they could trust — compared with just 45% in the control group.

Vauxhall wrapped units saw the highest usage in week one, pointing to an immediate draw to branded chargers. From week two, usage leveled out across the network, with Vauxhall customers ultimately using 95% of JOLT's charging sites — branded and unbranded. Anonymized first-party data from the Jolt app gave Vauxhall real-time insight into audience behavior — helping to optimize creative and track campaign performance.

Campaign insight

Vauxhall chose Jolt given its focus on providing fast and affordable EV charging infrastructure in urban areas, according to Phil Douglass, Vauxhall marketing director.

"Our partnership provided Vauxhall drivers with free access to over 40 EV charging units across North West London. Jolt's unique combination of charging units with digital advertising boards allowed us to display a targeted Vauxhall ad campaign promoting the free charging offer and supporting the launch of the New Grandland Electric," Douglass said in an email interview.

This campaign was the first Vauxhall has been involved in which combined DOOH with on-street charge points.

"Jolt's unique technology which allowed us to engage directly with Vauxhall customers while they were charging. This campaign built on our partnership with Tesco, which includes EV charging points at Tesco stores," Douglass said.

The top ROI has been the positive uplift in brand perception, he added, as it "strengthened Vauxhall's position as a brand people can trust when making the switch to electric,"

Success was tied to Vauxhall's strategy with the campaign.

"Always ensure the customer journey is clear from the outset — it was important to ensure Vauxhall drivers had downloaded the JOLT app so they could benefit from the free charging offer," Douglass said.

The power of DOOH and in-app engagement

The campaign's strong ROI was the result of an innovative application of DOOH in conjunction with in-app engagement, according to Gino Cettina, Jolt's U.K. sales director.

"Vauxhall is the first brand to combine wrapped charging units with free, fast charging — adding new layers to deliver deeper engagement and greater impact," Cettina said in an email interview. "The campaign aimed to fundamentally shift the public narrative around EV ownership, making EVs feel practical and relevant to everyday drivers by turning routine charging stops into memorable brand-building moments."

Jolt's app experience offers users 7kWh of free energy daily, which is enough for a whole week for the average city driver.

"Jolt's network is designed to capture attention precisely when consumers are most receptive: during the EV charging process. Our digital out-of-home screens ensure brand messages are not only seen but genuinely remembered, while our JOLT app allows for direct, personalized interaction and further engagement opportunities," said Cettina.

The app also provides advertisers valuable first-party data, she added, and that data allows both Jolt and its clients to understand charging behaviors, preferences and demographics.

"This data is crucial for advertisers, making our platform highly desirable for various brands," said Cettina.

DOOH Advertising

About Judy Mottl

Judy Mottl is editor of Retail Customer Experience and Digital Signage Today. She has decades of experience as a reporter, writer and editor covering technology and business for top media including AOL, InformationWeek, InternetNews and Food Truck Operator.

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