The challenge
Rebrand this highly successful car service plan company, a UK-wide business with many big-name clients, under the Innovation Group banner following its acquisition. It needed aligning to the parent group’s look and values, but to retain a recognisable essence for the benefit of a reliable and faithful client base. The work was carried out in collaboration with Clout Branding.
What we did
As we interviewed the senior figures in the business it became clear that there was an opportunity to do far more with this project than whitewash the existing brand with Innovation Group’s new logo and colours. Here was the chance to strengthen bonds, attract new business, and lay the platform for the strategic changes the business had planned. They wanted to have bigger conversations, especially with car manufacturers with large dealership networks, and show that their ability to enrich the experience of being a car owner post-sale extended far beyond the service plan itself: their customer service, training of staff, technology and creative thinking all set them apart from the competition.
We built the new brand around “All taken care of”, four words which summed up the high-quality “relax, we’ve got it covered” spirit of their customer service, but which also communicated the scope and thoroughness of what they were offering dealerships directly. To support this we helped coin this broader offer as “Ownercare”… a concept and phrase hitherto unused in the industry which could belong to them and them alone. The website backed this up with writing targeted at the needs of specific audiences… and plenty of proof, including, of course, real stories.
What happened next
The work was extremely well received, both internally and externally. Since launch EMaC has signed a new nationwide ‘Vauhxhall Care’ plan for the car manufacturer’s dealerships. In August 2019 BMW and Mini dealerships began offering a monthly pay service. And the innovative ‘Drive now pay later’ financing scheme has been taken up by over 500 dealerships nationwide. Managing director, John O’Donnell, said of the new refocused messaging that the “outcome is extremely promising.”
Two years after the rebrand, our client reported:
- Several complimentary observations on website content, look & feel etc. from key clients (dealer & OEM)
- Widespread positivity amongst our own community
- Tangible benefits in terms of recruiting high calibre staff members
- Business revenue on an upward curve
- Consumer & business client numbers rising
- Renewal of our contract with one key OEM & additional, formal endorsements from a number of others
- The website has created an ideal platform to communicate our wider ‘aftersales partner’ messaging to existing & potential clients … we now have three core products rather than one
