Rebrand, responsive website and marketing campaign. STRATEGY. We began ... copy for key marketing collateral. Whilst ...
Case Study /
INSTITUTE OF THE MOTOR INDUSTRY Rebrand, responsive website and marketing campaign The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) is the professional association for the retail automotive sector. Cyber-Duck overhauled IMI’s branding, aligning a previous disarray of sub-brands to a single, confident identity. The new branding has received much acclaim from within the sector for balancing a contemporary new look with classic nods to IMI’s heritage.
OBJECTIVES
STRATEGY
PRODUCING A SMART AND INSPIRING BRAND
Ninety-five years since inception, IMI has
We began with intensive research, holding
As you’d expect from an organisation founded
constantly grown, reflecting the industry it
regular strategy and design workshops with
represents. Because of this, IMI performs
IMI. We spoke to stakeholders and teams,
many roles, like offering qualifications and
increasing understanding of their goals
accreditations; recognising standards; and
and expectations for the project. We also
raising consumer and youth awareness.
interviewed a broad cross-section of users,
Historically, each product or service had a
uncovering what IMI means to them: from
sub-brand, occasionally with no mention of
young apprentices to industry leaders. Key
IMI. This left many confused about their core
themes began to emerge:
services, and even surprised at the true breadth of their role. Our objectives were: __Design new branding and tone of voice in-line with IMI’s commercial objectives. __Create scalable brand guidelines, with artwork for key marketing materials. __Deliver a library of photography for use throughout future communications. __Launch a Professional Register website, with videos featuring BBC F1 host Suzi Perry.
__Not enough people were aware of IMI’s benefits and range of roles. __The industry’s public perception doesn’t fairly reflect the majority of professionals’ expertise. __IMI’s brand must engage with young people, independent garages, and end consumers.
in 1920, IMI has plenty of heritage built up over the years. It was important for the new brand to be informed by this history, without appearing old fashioned or out-of-touch. Therefore, a key challenge for the project was to straddle this fine line between contemporary and classicism. We aimed to create a smart, modern brand, underpinned by the integrity of its heritage. We worked closely with IMI to develop the brand, from the logo to the visual language including typography, colours, and photography. Alongside this, we developed their written language by defining a stronger, more confident tone of voice, and providing copy for key marketing collateral. Whilst exploring concepts for the IMI branding, we defined five key design principles, otherwise known as the five ‘C’s: constraint, consistency, clarity, credibility and changeability. These informed every single design decision we made for the project.
238% increase
414% increase
in unique visitors to the
in organic traffic to IMI
IMI Professional Register
Professional Register
in unique visitors to the IMI Professional Register
OUTCOMES
THE FUTURE
The result is a smart and professional
To accompany the brand, we provided
brand that reinforces IMI’s position as the
a scalable, robust set of guidelines. This
authoritative voice of the retail automotive
complemented the new strategic direction
sector. The new logo uses clean, modern lines,
taken by IMI this year, and enabled their team
with a nod to Britain’s rich motoring heritage
to continue taking the new brand forward.
“Changing a brand is
by using a variant on the iconic ‘British Racing Green’ as the primary colour, It fuses contemporary and classic perfectly.
Finally, we put the branding principles into practice by designing a new responsive website for the IMI Professional Register. The
We helped IMI implement the new logo and
IMI Professional Register is a directory of
branding on key marketing material, in time for
individuals working in the automotive industry:
a series of key events and campaigns. These
from mechanics and technicians, to sales
included:
representatives who have been recognised for their experience, professionalism, training
__Print and digital advertising __Certificates, brochures & fact sheet hand-outs __Document and email campaign templates
standards, and commitment to ethical working practices. The website helps people to find
challenging for any organisation. Cyber-Duck’s thorough methodology allowed our stakeholders to be involved and see the brand evolve during the project. The outcome is a clean, modern classic look with a clear brand strategy for our organisation.”
automotive professionals they can trust, whether conducting research at home, or in an emergency using their phone.
Jane Allan
__Member magazine templates and application forms
cross-channel marketing campaign for the IMI
__Stationery, T-shirts, badges and
Professional Register, aiming to raise awareness
office signage __Social media profiles
CONTACT US PHONE - +44 (0) 208 953 0070 EMAIL -
[email protected]
Head of Communications, IMI
Going forward, we are leading a holistic
__Exhibition walls and pop-up stands
amongst consumers and trade professionals alike.
Hertfordshire office
London office
Elstree House, 12 High Street
85 Cowcross Street,
Elstree, Hertfordshire
Farringdon, London, EC1M 6PF
WD6 3EP, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
