Overview

The world's oldest automobile manufacturer and one of the strongest brands in the automotive industry, Mercedes-Benz is part of the DaimlerChrysler portfolio of brands. With a wide and dynamic selection of sedans, coupes, convertibles, roadsters, wagons, SUVs, buses, trucks and the AMG series, Mercedes-Benz continues to be a pioneer in automotive styling, safety, and performance.

Business Issue

When Mercedes-Benz engaged BrandWizard, they were using an internally developed brand management tool, called the Brand Design System (BDS), for all of their brand standards, brand marks and graphic templates. Outdated and cost prohibitive to maintain, the original BDS was difficult to navigate and the content management process created blockages in workflow, leading to inefficiencies and user frustration. The marketing team was concerned that the brand was becoming fragmented and inconsistent across sub-brands and countries. Additionally the team wanted more administrative control over collateral, to avoid having to approach the IT team every time they needed to make a change; self-maintenance was of key importance.

BrandWizard Response

After auditing their existing site, BrandWizard and Mercedes-Benz decided to completely redesign the current BDS system to be user friendly, easily adoptable by all levels of the company and straightforward in editing, expansion and updating functionality. BrandWizard built a system to house all of the brand design guidelines globally, allowing 362,000 users access from any web terminal, at any time of the day or night. A content management system enables the central brand team control over content and user access. A monitoring system tracks user patterns and downloads.

Business Result

Mercedes-Benz hosted a three day BDS launch party and training session for select dealers and partners worldwide at headquarters in Stuttgart. The enthusiastic response set the stage for immediate usage and buy-in across regions.

With over 30,000 hits in just the first two weeks of launch, the Mercedes-Benz brand team reports reduced costs across the board, increased performance, and greater control over the brand message across diverse markets and regions. The time spent entering and editing brand content has been halved.

BrandWizard is continuing its brand management partnership with Mercedes, adding enhancements and new functionality as the system evolves.