Brand Launch

A human-centric approach from Milkshake turns Automarket into Cars & Care, a new customer promise that inspires stronger performance across 5 disparate Central European markets and hundreds of employees.

THE CHALLENGE

Finding that crucial element to unlock a sense of employee pride and ownership
An easier “welcome” path for new customers to instantly recognize the company’s B2C value and offerings
A core message that is aligned to the company's overall mission and values

Business Lease is a mobility solutions company with over 20 years of rich history across Central Europe. However, their B2C sales division for pre-owned cars (called varying versions of Automarket) struggled with disparate identities, approaches, and results across each location.

One of Automarket’s brand identities before engaging with Milkshake

THE SOLUTION

Beyond a standard design facelift, we aimed to revitalize how employees felt about their own company, in order to create a mirroring effect for customers and audiences alike. To do that, we set out to craft a compelling and holistic brand that would specifically amplify internal performance.

So we started where it mattered: with the people themselves. We first conducted a thorough audit, tapping into a list of inspiration sources for stakeholders, business partners, and customers. We then moderated a series of strategic workshops, where employees of all levels came together to unearth their own salient value proposition.

When it came down to just two words, employees became alight with what really mattered in their eyes: service and care.

Enter our idea for a refreshed brand, Cars & Care - Driven by Business Lease. With the emotional underpinning and messaging now clarified, we set to delivering an entire, strategic structure that would excited associates. And in just 2 months, we turned Cars & Care into a fully-realized, unified brand across 5 different countries:

New logo and tagline (strategically aligned to the parent organization)
Brand Book of improved key messages, with guidance for employees and communication stakeholders
Library of digital, wearable, and SWAG elements (with specs) to unify all customer touchpoints
Designs for the interior and exterior of car bazaars across all locations
Corporate and social launch strategy, with 4+ months of editorial content
Fully-refreshed website, with a single UX-validated entrance path for all global customers

crave-worthy
results

Business Lease reported an immediate and significant improvement in morale that resulted in higher performance across their entire B2C division. They saw their highest uptick from their “Car Bazaars” where most direct customer interactions took place.

Within one financial year, the switch-over to Cars & Care proved to have direct impacts that increased direct sales, led to higher employee job satisfaction survey rates, and even elevated their B2C division’s customer NPI scores.

Today, Business Lease remains one of The Milkshake’s longest repeat clients, because they trust in our ability to resonate, modernize, and most importantly — go above and beyond.