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