WDA are pleased to announce the launch of Scorpion Exhausts all new website – the first key component of a planned extensive integrated marketing campaign which will start to roll out over coming months. The engaging new site marks the dawn of a new era for Scorpion who have a mission to re-establish the brand as a global leader in both 2 and 4 wheel categories within 5 years.

The new website has been re-built from the ground up, with design, copywriting, photography, coding, and search all completed by WDA. Packed with many exciting new products (including a whole new lineup of flagship ‘Red Power’ systems), the site has been designed to be simple to navigate with a nice clean interface in keeping with the new brand identity which was also created by WDA and revealed to the world last year.

The site has been created with future development and added content population very much in mind, and WDA plan to keep the site sticky by introducing a whole host of extra features and incentives over the coming months. Fans can already sign up to keep abreast of Scorpions various motorsport programs, and will soon be able to track their new mobile exhibition unit via the online calendar which will plot the movements of the new Scorpion roadshow, set to launch soon.

Connecting with customers

One of the most important aspects of the site was to convey to the customer what it means to own a Scorpion system. Positioning Scorpion in such a way that todays brand savvy riders and drivers could make an emotional connection was critical in re-igniting demand for the products. Adding the ‘brand’ page allowed us to directly communicate all that Scorpion ownership stands for; additionally we re-defined all the product categories so that customers understood individual range benefits and differences to make purchase decisions as clear and easy as possible.

Visit Scorpions new website www.scorpion-exhausts.com

Read more about the Scorpion rebrand here

WDA were recently commissioned to take Longlife through a rebrand process as a key component of the Company’s broader growth plans.

Longlife are in a totally different market to most mainstream exhaust brands in that they work on a one-to-one basis with drivers to custom fabricate bespoke exhaust systems.

Customers generally fall into two groups; either drivers who have specific performance requirements which may not be catered for with standard systems; or owners of rare, modified or unusual vehicles. The basic kit components alone can give over 1400 different silencer combinations, before the engineer even begins fabrication. This custom build approach enables Longlife to better control the quality of each individual system produced, which is the foundation of a reputation for exhausts ‘built to last’, and was the inspiration for the ‘Longlife’ brand name. Longlife have now quietly been at the forefront of custom build exhausts for over 30 years and today the company is so confident of build quality that each system uniquely comes with a fully transferable lifetime guarantee.

‘Bringing the Drive Alive’

“Lots of exhaust brands already produce great off the shelf systems which drivers looking for a ‘bolt on’ upgrade can choose from” says Longlife Marketing Manager Jason Freeman. “Our brief to WDA was to differentiate Longlife away from those brands and better target the niche customer base our products are created for.
WDA have positioned Longlife as a no-nonesense, almost utilitarian brand which creates products of the very highest caliber. The military inspiration hints at both the Aerospace industry processes and materials employed by Longlife, but also the shared approach of creating products which are designed to ‘get the job done’ and critically are entirely dependable in extreme conditions. The ‘Bring the Drive Alive’ positioning underlines the promise of a product designed to be experienced rather than looked at. We wanted the visual identity to be strong, bold, confidence inspiring, and to convey a premium feel. We are very happy with the results and believe WDA have succeeded in transforming Longlife from a great product into a brilliant brand!”

Strong branding the key to long-term survival and success

“As confidence begins to return to the automotive market the timing is arguably right for Longlife to invest in its brand and push for growth” says WDA’s Lee Waterhouse. “A rebrand can be undertaken for a variety of reasons. Often we talk to clients whose aim is to be able to charge a premium price for goods or services. Sometimes its a defensive action against competitor attack. Often it’s simply a case of good housekeeping where a tired brand needs refreshing to stimulate renewed interest amongst consumers, and boost staff morale.
Whatever the reason, in today’s automotive market strong brands are key to a company’s long term survival and success. Increasing brand equity has a very direct impact on a company’s book value. In fact, the book value of many stock market companies is increasingly determined more by the value of such intangible assets; sometimes accounting for upwards of 75% of total value.

A good rebrand is about more than just creating a striking visual identity. Controlling how the brand is represented across all touch points and media channels is necessary to ensure consistency. As a full service agency WDA are perfectly positioned to deliver this and look forward to rolling out a host of marketing collateral for Longlife, beginning with a new advertising campaign which is set to launch very soon.”

Check out the new website  www.longlife.co.uk

For a brief chat to discuss your own requirements please call Sally Parkin on +44 (0) 1332 372728 or email sally@wda-automotive.com

WDA are pleased to announce a major rebrand for Travall this month, with the new identity set to roll out across various media during 2011.

Travall is the Automotive aftermarket division of ASG Group Limited. Operating from its own dedicated facility, Travall creates a wide range of vehicle and leisure accessories such as dog guards, load separators, vehicle side pipes and waterproof seat covers. The recent rapid growth of the business can be credited largely to the drive and vision of Commercial Manager Paul Rowden and his team. Paul identified the need to create new partnerships with specialist suppliers to fast track his plans to make Travall a key global brand within the automotive accessory market – WDA being drafted in to assist with the marketing, branding and design components of the project.

“With Travall we have created a brand which focusses very much on the lifestyle its products facilitate, rather than how they function.” commented WDA Marketing Director Patrick Chapman. “As they say “Life is a journey, not a destination” And, if life is a journey, it makes sense to focus on the enjoyment the customer can get out of it. Lots of Travalls products are quite utilitarian, many are safety orientated. Whilst many drivers will understand the sense in investing in such products, they are not always strongly desired being more a ‘head’ than ‘heart’ purchase. One of Travalls flagship lines is a good example of this. Dog guards are effectively steel cages for dogs, designed to protect the interior of a vehicle; and preserve the safety of both occupants and animals in the event of a collision. So instead of focussing on these things instead we emphasise the scenarios the guard enables –  Dog and owner enjoying the countryside, having both arrived safe and sound, the pet relaxed and fresh; the vehicle clean and tidy.”

Enjoy the journey

In addition to creating the brand WDA have also developed the visual identity and will collaborate with Head of Design and Marketing Mat Fern to roll out the Travall message across an integrated mix of media and communications as well as identifying opportunities in ‘uncontested market space’ not being used by competitors.

In Travall we have created a brand for ALL life’s journeys, whatever the customers vehicle, whatever their driving style. The new positioning ‘Enjoy the journey’ gives Travall the foundation to diversify out from its current product ranges into many other areas in the future. Travall is a brand WDA are really excited about and feel it is now perfectly positioned to make a real impact in the marketplace – watch this space.

New website launching soon: www.travall.com

WDA moved up another gear this month when we were awarded Recommended Agency Status. RAR has become the default industry authority amongst  brand owners and marketing managers looking for agencies with independently ratified credentials who follow best practice and are highly rated by existing clientele. Only agencies which have been very highly rated above a set quality threshold by at least three of their clients within the last 12 months become Recommended Agencies.

“WDA are absolutely thrilled to have achieved Recommended Agency status as being on the RAR roster creates a whole range of new business generating opportunities amongst registered brand owners looking for accredited agencies.” commented Managing Director Lee Waterhouse. “This is great for us, but the main reason we decided to apply for RAR was to have what we believe are exceptional credentials independently ratified by a trusted independent body. Meeting the rigorous selection criteria will hopefully give our existing clients that extra confidence factor.

RAR also gave us the chance to see how existing clients rated us on a whole range of things which is invaluable feedback and enables us to identify areas we can target for improvement.”

Read more about RAR at: www.agencyregister.co.uk/about

WDA were awarded our sixth accolade at the annual BDN Trade Industry Awards ceremony held at Europe’s premier trade exhibition the Expo Show on the 23rd January 2011.

‘Best Trade Advertising 2011′ was accepted by our client Shaun Leonard, co-owner of Scorpion Exhausts’.

“Quality is at the core of our entire organisation,” said an excited Shaun. “In fact as our competition continue to move production to Asia, we have actually bucked the trend in bringing what small parts of manufacturing were being carried out in Europe, BACK into the UK to better control quality.

However, our obsession with the product meant we sometimes overlooked marketing and branding. We eventually realised that strong brands live in the customers mind not within the features list of the product; and thanks to the efforts of WDA we now believe we have both.

This award is a great launching off point for a planned 2011 marketing push within the motorcycle market; and sends out a clear message that Scorpion are back on top!”

The Best Trade Advertising award follows a win in the same category last year and a merit in 2009; and will sit alongside WDA’s other silverware including a hat-trick of outright wins in the Best consumer category in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

“WDA have really enjoyed working with Scorpion on the rebrand”. Says WDA’s Lee Waterhouse “As a user of the product it’s great to back a brand that I really believe in. The Red Power positioning gives Scorpion real differentiation in todays crowded market place and the new fresh, clean visual style is a credit to our creative team.

British Dealer News and the Expo event carry huge clout within the motorcycle industry and to be recognised by them with this award further boosts our reputation for ‘Building Brilliant Brands’, and encourages excellence amongst the team.”

WDA has joined forces with the industries most reputable ECU tuning company Viezu to assist with the marketing element of an exciting growth and diversification programme which will push the Viezu brand into new market areas all still firmly routed in its core tuning business.

In terms existing product offerings Viezu is leading the way in the tuning World, delivering innovative technologies and super slick customer service. Viezu has a very refreshing approach to vehicle tuning, in an industry which has been tainted over the years by irresponsible tuners chasing outright power figures at the expense of drivability and even reliability. With Viezu every application is car specific and developed – and tested – wholly in-house by a team widely acknowledged as the best in the business. In fact, Viezu programmes are so good that the Company often writes white label files for other tuning brands.

“Viezu approached WDA to assist in devising a marketing strategy to evolve the brand and execute the growth plan” Says WDA’s Lee Waterhouse. “In terms of branding the exercise is likely to be one of evolution not revolution – Viezu already has fairly positive brand equity. The process will involve taking a thorough look at the competition and market opportunity and working on re-positioning Viezu accordingly. Once that essential groundwork is done we can look at building a platform for the promotional campaign. The goal is to more clearly define the Viezu brand and to create stand out and differentiation in what has become a very crowded marketplace. Ultimately we want to get the message out about Viezus superior products and exciting new innovations, and increase sales for the Company.

The relationship has kicked off with an ad-hoc packaging box project for the upcoming Autosport show. The packaging (consisting a generic box and V:Switch variant) was designed, prototyped, printed and finished within a very tight timeframe over the Christmas break. And we are pleased to say the client is absolutely delighted with the result!”

See Viezu at Autosport in Hall 7, stand 7510  www.autosportinternational.com

Find out more about Viezu Technologies   www.viezu.com

Published by WDA, the official P Zero club magazine goes out to an exclusive group of prestige and performance car drivers who insist on the finer things in life; and it’s WDA’s job to ensure that we engage this readership with fresh and interesting news, informative features and stylish design.

Hot off the press, the Autumn edition naturally leads on the official story of the Pirelli F1 tie up following the announcement earlier in the year of a deal between Pirelli, The FIA, FOTA and FOM which will see Pirelli as sole tyre supplier to the series for the next 3 years.Preview the P Zero magazine here

WDA’s Managing Director Lee Waterhouse: “It’s great to be associated with Pirelli’s most exclusive product P Zero, a name which will adorn the sidewall of every car on the F1 grid in 2011 for the first time in 20 years. Formula One is a perfect fit for P Zero as it embodies the very lifestyle P Zero road drivers aspire to. Not only is F1 a great platform from a brand perspective; it is also number one in outright media coverage terms with seasonal viewing figures measured in billions. Pirelli is also set to enjoy great media returns in emerging high growth markets – areas of significant strategic importance to the company”.

Other stories include Pirelli’s OE involvement with Maserati and their new Pininfarina designed GranCabrio, a feature on SottoZero winter tyres with a cash back incentive for P Zero members, news from the 2 wheeled division and the announcement of the 2010 Pirelli Performance Centre of the year.

A real testament to WDA’s understanding of the market

WDA produce P Zero magazine entirely in-house from article research, copy writing and editing, through to layout design, contributor liaison and printing.

“P Zero magazine is a real testament to WDA’s understanding of the Automotive market, as our ability to identify with the readership comes about because each edition is edited by someone who is incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the magazine’s subject matter. This same market specialism enables us to progress the project from an initial simple, clear brief rather than having to be micro-managed at every stage of production. This takes the pressure off the client and makes the whole process much more efficient – and enjoyable!”

P Zero strategic partnerships

WDA’s ‘little black book’ of industry contacts also enables us to identify opportunities and take advantage of potential synergies between clients and associates. P Zero magazine regularly features competitions or features on a variety of automotive and lifestyle products where WDA have identified a ‘brand fit’ and brokered a mutually beneficial promotion for both parties. An example in this issue is the featured competition for P Zero members to win an Airflow Italian hand tailored car cover (Airflow being a long standing client of WDA).

Should you feel that your brand could be considered for inclusion in P Zero Club promotions please email WDA’s Sally Parkin here

WDA are proud to announce a new venture with a helmet brand we helped establish in the UK nearly ten years ago. KBC helmets approached WDA at the end of summer initially asking us to review their brand positioning and to produce their 2011 range catalogue see it here.

Time for a new strategy

2010 has seen lots of budget brands entering the mid-price market, a territory KBC has traditionally had a firm foothold in globally. Lots of these companies are entering a very crowded marketplace with product ranges that are essentially the same – many often coming out of the same Chinese factories; some even utilising the same base shell structure with different graphics.

KBC has consistently kept ahead of rivals in terms of product innovation, having successfully pioneered many new technologies over the years. But in addition to quality, innovation and safety KBC have also had the edge on design; its collections being visually stunning and immediately recognisable in the dealership.

Brand strength

In any market increased competition means an increased need to clearly differentiate. KBC recognised that its greatest asset, and the biggest competitive advantage it held was a very strong and established brand. Loz Broers Managing Director of KBC Europe:

“Some of the asian companies are struggling to grow their products into desirable brands which the more consumer developed global markets demand. At KBC we want our customers not only to have technically superior products that enhance their riding experience, we also want them to feel good about choosing – and using – KBC. We want to create products that say something about the rider and represent their lifestyle choices. Our brand is the sum of all the successful things we have done over the years. The industry firsts, the race wins, the World records. It’s also about what we stand for as a Company, our attitude, personality, how we treat our people and our customers and where we want to go next.

Our ultimate aim is to continue to create the Worlds most innovative helmets, whilst focussing on building our brand so that only KBC can offer the feeling our products give the rider.”

‘The Design Edge’

WDA’s Lee Waterhouse: “Our positioning – ‘The Design Edge’ – gives KBC a strong and distinctive platform to highlight both the technical benefits/features of the range AND to draw specific focus to KBC’s designer credentials – something that has always set it apart from its competitors.

The ‘Design Edge’ positioning also gives KBC the opportunity to continue to expand and possibly diversify the range into other associated products where design value is a key purchase decision for customers.

WDA are looking forward to building on ‘Design Edge’  in KBCs 2011 European promotional campaign. The first item to carry the new message is KBC’s range guide which launched at Intermot this month. View it here:

http://issuu.com/wdaautomotive

The head of motorsport for Pirelli has revealed what drove the Italian tyres manufacturer to return to Formula One after a 20 year break.

Paul Hembery, Motorsport Director for the tyres company, said: “The opportunity presented itself for us to come back to Formula One under changed commercial realities and to reinforce Pirelli’s reputation as supplier to the most prestigious car brands in the world by being represented at the pinnacle of single-seater racing.

“This was a chance that we didn’t want to turn down, and we’re delighted now to be here.”

In an exclusive interview with the F1times, Hembery confirmed that the new racing tyres will be made at Pirelli’s factory near Istanbul in Turkey.

He said: “It’s a very modern facility that only opened three years ago and it can easily be modified for the demands of Formula One production. Operationally, we’ve made this work without increasing our budgets by re-allocating some of our resources.”

Hembery also revealed the extent of the input the teams/FOTA have had into the design of the tyres for the 2011 season.

“With the agreement being announced well after the teams had begun development of their 2011 cars,” he explained, “the design of the tyres for next year will follow the current FIA regulations.

“We have worked with the teams to define the primary characteristics of the product but of course we have our design and material philosophies, and in the end it will be a Pirelli tyre.”

At WDA we’re not known for clinging to history. Which is a good thing as todays digital media landscape is changing daily, which means WDA is constantly changing to ensure we always deliver our clients ‘Big Ideas’ through the most effective channels. And since most of WDAs creative thinking now finds its way online, an update of our website was timely.

It’s all part of a recent brand review where we took a long, honest look at what we do, what we’re good at and where our clients need us to go next.

Whilst the results lead us to a process which is visually more evolution than revolution; the refresh hopefully builds on our existing reputation and makes WDA even more relevant to our clients needs.

The new website has been designed around the visitor with the objective being to give a broad overview of WDA as quickly as possible. As such we have been quite ruthless in pruning back the content!

Search was a major consideration so an overhaul of the SEO was also carried out, and we took the decision to move any work examples onto the new blog for speed of update to keep content fresh.

We have also added in new service offerings (and a link to our new portfolio) which expands upon our online work including social media, viral video and email marketing.

The website also introduces WDA’s unique ROI (return on idea) process which revolves around our ongoing commitment to accountability and return on investment.

In addition WDA’s brand management wheel is also published which illustrates our Ideas based marketing philosophy which ensures creativity is at the heart of everything we do but fully supported by sound strategy and methodology.

Why not click here to take a look and see what WDA could potentially deliver for you.