Volkswagen is doubling down on emotional connection as a marketing strategy, and its CMO, Rachael Zaluzec, is pointing to two newly expanded partnerships as the vehicle: U.S. Soccer and NBCUniversal.

Zaluzec outlined the brand's approach in a recent interview, digging into how the expanded work with the two organizations fits Volkswagen's broader effort to connect with American consumers through passion points rather than product specs alone.

Why partnerships carry the strategy

The expanded U.S. Soccer and NBCUniversal relationships give Volkswagen sustained presence in environments where audiences are emotionally invested — live sport and entertainment — rather than relying solely on traditional advertising placements.

For a legacy automaker competing for attention in a crowded U.S. market, that positioning matters: sponsorship properties like national soccer federations and major media partnerships place the brand inside cultural moments, where audience engagement runs high.

Zaluzec's framing signals that Volkswagen sees partnership-led marketing not as a supplement to its media spend but as a core mechanism for building affinity with consumers.

What this means for Volkswagen's U.S. positioning

The interview places Zaluzec at the center of Volkswagen's American brand-building at a time when automakers are under pressure to justify marketing investment against measurable outcomes.

Her focus on emotional connection through partnerships suggests the brand will continue to weight its U.S. strategy toward high-visibility cultural properties, with soccer — a growing U.S. fan property — and NBCUniversal's media portfolio as anchor platforms.

How the expanded partnerships translate into campaigns and measurable brand lift will be the next test for Volkswagen's approach.

Editor's note: The underlying interview provides only summary details; this report reflects the substance available from the source.