This was a bold move - given that Imperial was an established, 30-year-old brand. CEO Dawn Nathan-Jones explains why and how.
Why the name change?
Imperial Car Rental has had an association with Europcar International since the early 1980s. Europcar is the leading brand in Europe, Australasia, the Middle East and Africa. It is also one of the top three car rental companies in the world. Which company wouldn't want to inject this level of brand equity into the business? The merger unlocked considerable synergies between the two companies.
How did you manage the change?
Consolidation of the two existing SA operations began mid-2007. This included meshing cultures, combining people, overlapping operations, consolidating fleets and back-end systems and moving into one head office. The company was co-branded Imperial Car Rental-Europcar before becoming Europcar in mid-2009.
BBDO Consulting was commissioned in December 2008 to conduct research, devise a marketing strategy and find a positioning for the new company. With the official changeover date set for May 31 2009, a countdown time of about eight months was filled with projects in the marketing and IT departments to ensure the transition would not result in the loss of any customers. Leading up to the last week of May, there was a huge above-the-line communication campaign, and below-the-line communication was used to convey the change message to nearly 1m customers.
What previous brand changes did Imperial use as role models?
We consulted with local business leaders, including Santie Botha, the former Absa marketing director and champion behind the consolidation of Trust Bank and Volkskas. We also focused on the international case study of the Allianz Group in Germany.
Who advised and managed the plan?
BBDO Consulting took on phase one, to build the strategy for the transition and beyond. Net#work BBDO conceptualised and implemented the launch advertising campaign and The Media Shop designed the media strategy. A brand council team met weekly, identifying obstacles and challenges.
What were they?
At first, it was the internal, emotional attachments to the Imperial brand. This was the longest and most important part of the process as people are the face of any brand. The second challenge was to communicate that the brand was still owned by Imperial Group, with the same people at the helm.
Changing a brand is a detailed process. Obvious areas were signage (120 locations), e-mail addresses, website, uniforms and stationery. Then there are changes to softer issues such as employee perception, culture and hierarchical structures.
How are you measuring the effectiveness of the process?
There has been post-launch research and we have received some positive feedback. However, this is a very early assessment. The brand council team continues to meet regularly to assess performance.
