Under the name ÖAMTC Fahrtechnik, The Austrian Driver’s Association ÖAMTC (Austrian Automobile, Motorcycle and Touring Club) offers the largest and most well-known organisation in Austria for driver safety training. The company was founded by Franz Wurz, a three-time European rally champion and father of former F1 driver and LeMans-Champion Alexander Wurz. Each year, around 120,000 customers are introduced to the art of active driving and trained by some 200 experienced employees.
Spirit Design was able to convince ÖAMTC of the viability of its approach to consultancy and problem solving during a pitch back in 2009. In the years that followed, ÖAMTC Fahrtechnik was re-positioned and consulted in the areas of innovation, product policy, and branding as well as integrated communication.
Strategic Realignment
More Emotion and Experience
What the brand was lacking was dynamics and positioning in order to, above all, effectively target younger audiences. As a result, Spirit Design developed a new market strategy for ÖAMTC Fahrtechnik alongside a consistent and aligned brand identity. What followed was a complete brand re-launch inclusive of all communication applications.
The complex part: ÖAMTC is a very well-known and well integrated brand in Austria. Basic values associated with it that were already present and built up over several years, such as security and trust, were not allowed to be compromised by the brand’s re-launch.
Brand Design
Old Strengths, New Dynamics
Through a vibrant, italicised font, the lettering has an athletic and powerful appearance. The family brand ÖAMTC remained unchanged and acts as a strong foundation – this maintains the familiar strengths of the brand’s image. The traditional yellow, which has served as the business’s key colour, was made more dynamic and exciting through use of a colour gradient from bright orange to yellow.
A new feature was a key visual element in the form of tracks, which adds extra momentum to the brand identity as well as a strong, target-group oriented imagery. The interplay of the colours and the key visual makes the brand recognisable and distinctive. The imagery creates emotion through unique perspectives and suspenseful photos.
Architecture and Fleet
An essential part of the rebranding was the interior and exterior design of the nine nationwide driving technique centres. The new signs, as well as the car branding and displays allow for recognition and strengthen the brand.
Brand Experience
Brochure systematisation for a comprehensive training course offering
Based on the new product policy, a comprehensive and consistent brochure system was developed. The print media emphasise the driving experience, the community spirit and high performance demands of the training courses. It presents very dynamic, exciting imagery, and unusual presentation of training courses such as from a bird’s eye view.
Campaign: Fate can be steered
The slogan ‘Fate can be steered’ points out the purpose of driver training courses and clearly supports the humorously implemented advertising campaign in various media.The integrated campaign is applied to print and online media, direct marketing as well as to outdoor advertising.
Social Branding and Online Presence
The formative brand elements are further pursued online: colour scheme, logo, key visual (lanes), imagery and lettering create brand recognition and communicate the qualities of the brand on its website as well as on Facebook and Youtube.
Consistent Implementation
The sub-brand ÖAMTC Fahrtechnik now appears more pleasant and appeals emotionally, yet also conveys competence and experience. It now fulfills all prerequisites to reach the desired objectives in terms of acquiring new and retaining existing customers. The brand design shows a consistent treatment of different design elements and provides a highly visible, coherent look.
It includes all print applications, from the business stationary to marketing materials, all other promotional material, the website as well as other digital media. In addition, the external and internal signage systems of the nine nation-wide driving course centers, vehicle lettering as well as the clothing of the employees were adapted to the new branding. The newfound self-confidence and the high performance demands of ÖAMTC Fahrtechnik are reflected in every facet.
