Volkswagen Veicoli Commerciali and Amazon Ads take customers on an Italian road trip on board the ID. Buzz Cargo

For three Italian small businesses, the goal of preserving tradition, embracing sustainability, and innovating to create a successful enterprise can be a challenging balancing act. With the help of the ID. Buzz Cargo, Volkswagen Veicoli Commerciali is aiming to help them manage that feat with their newest electric vehicle (EV). Alongside the Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab (BIL), Volkswagen Veicoli Commerciali created a 20-minute documentary titled Charge Your Brand.

The brand-funded film, which launches on Prime Video beginning September 25, follows host and digital entrepreneur Marco Montemagno as he travels across Italy in the ID. Buzz Cargo. While on the road, Montemagno visits three small businesses—Northern Italian furniture craftspeople Mobili Fiver, plant-based wellness brand Erbecedario, and organic winery Fattoria di Montemaggio—and shows them how the ID. Buzz Cargo can help brands, like theirs, take their business on the road.

The three businesses were selected from the Made in Italy program, a partnership between Amazon and the Italian Trade Agency that promotes the country’s entrepreneurship and international commerce. In the film, someone from each small business takes a drive in the ID. Buzz Cargo, showing how the large storage space and EV design speak to their business needs and their commitments to sustainability. To underscore the small-business culture that thrives in Italy, Volkswagen Veicoli Commerciali and the BIL wanted to shine a spotlight on the local diversity of artisan produce and craftsmanship.

“With the increasing popularity of streaming TV, brand-funded content gives brands like Volkswagen an opportunity to connect with customers in an authentic way, while they are doing the things they enjoy,” said Kate McCagg, head of the BIL at Amazon Ads. “Through Charge Your Brand, we are putting the ID. Buzz Cargo at the heart of the content, while driving traffic to the program through a series of ads across Amazon Alexa, Amazon DSP, Fire TV, and Prime Video, helping the content reach relevant audiences, at the right time.”

The launch of the documentary will be supported by a mix of display ads across Amazon Alexa, Amazon DSP, Fire TV, and Prime Video, aiming to maximize the number of impressions and touchpoints with small and medium-sized businesses across Italy.