The automotive industry is experiencing electrifying change. And in any era of transformation, it's not enough to just keep up, you need to lead the way. No one knows this better than Cox Automotive. They provide integrated solutions that transform the way the world buys, sells and owns vehicles.
But 125 years after their founding, Cox Automotive was offering their European audience an out-dated digital brand experience. They needed a redefined digital DNA, strong enough to bring its 12 European sub-brands into one unmistakable, unified identity.
So, we captured and distilled Cox Automotive’s values, and brought them to life through a new, beacon website, which would strengthen and anchor them firmly into the future. Digital-first, built for diverse European markets, and speaking as one.
There was a big job to do. User research revealed that 40% of users deemed the existing website unhelpful, so it wasn’t just the brand that needed an upheaval, UX became a priority.
Leaving no page untouched we needed to bring the brand to life utilising all the digital expertise in our arsenal and then future proof it. Cox needed a digital brand book and design system, to empower their in-house teams to carry their new digital DNA across their extensive portfolio.
The key objective? To deliver a hero website to sit at the heart of their universe, boosting customer sentiment, encouraging brand exploration and re-affirmung their position as a global Automotive leader.
Despite Cox Automotive's vast ecosystem of interconnected products, many European customers weren't exploiting their full capabilities. Our deep analysis of existing research suggested that customers were, at best, confused by the disparate product brands, or, at worst, oblivious to the breadth of the product ecosystem. Translated to the website, this perception meant that many users were not making the journey from coxautoinc.eu to connected product sites.
We reviewed existing GA data and customer research to reshape their website information architecture and content structures. We needed to showcase how Cox's wider portfolio worked together, make information more discoverable, enabling people to fully understand the business.
The original site felt outdated, with a clunky UI that didn’t meet expectations for a global market leader. It was sub-optimal on mobile, hard to update and lacked digital first thinking. We needed to transform it: more elegant, with a European aesthetic, mobile first with replaced tired digital components.
This new identity would have to look and speak differently to cater to a much vaster European market and reinforce the company's global reputation for insight-driven solutions and innovative technology.
We prioritised educating users about Cox Automotive, and better serving their needs with the right digital signposting. When we started, they didn’t have any existing digital principles, so we jumped at the chance to develop them.
EXECUTION
Pan-European, aspirational and digital-first. We worked collaboratively with Cox to imagine an adaptive and dynamic identity that would eventually speed up digital creative deployments across its sub-brands.
The new Cox DNA would be exemplified and fortified via their beacon website, the place where existing and potential customers discover a suite of integrated products.
The mobile-first site quickly emerged with thoughtful and functional micro-interactions. Motion principles ensured a free-flowing, user-centred experience that connected compelling insight, to effective solutions, to new business leads.
We deployed our UX team to reform the digital customer journey by simplifying the navigation structure, consolidating and cross-pollinating key information across sites (transforming over 42 components) and identifying SEO opportunities to increase traffic and leads.
A new visual unifier - a streamlined 'X' graphic with a pulse of light - was introduced to represent that flow of dynamic data. From one business to another, this intersecting and rapid insight is what dealers, manufacturers, and fleet operators use to power their business decisions.
A Swiss typeface, precise grid system, and revised colour palette came together to challenge and change customer perception: presenting the unified brands as modern, interconnected, and seamless. Previous imagery of car showrooms were replaced by aspirational European imagery, designed to resonate with the end user, not just the B2B customer. Imagery was to capture the essence of the journey, with wide-open vistas, golden hour lighting and authentic, intimate moments.
Pivoting away from a TOV created for a business-to-business customer, a new tone was created for 'business-to-people'. These elevations were to create a 'must-follow' brand, with insight-rich messaging and accessible language for non-native English speakers - all easily translated across social, CRM, site, and beyond.
It worked. We could see the impact from 6 weeks after go-live:
But they didn’t stop there. They wanted to be sure that this new digital brand and digital experience was changing perceptions of their brand, so, they went looking for answers:
This next generation brand experience has exploded beyond its original remit. Cox Automotive Europe has rolled out the new digital design language to wider touch points and even taking the new look and feel offline with in-person events and brand merchandise.
The positive impact of Cox Automotive Europe's new beacon website has created a tangible boost in customer sentiment toward the global brand. Our UX informed approach has increased site exploration and greater exposure to their brand eco-system. Our redefinition, design, and deployment has driven much-needed digital brand equity that Cox Automotive first came to us to solve.
