The Swedish founder of Blix looked around American towns and cities, saw clogged-up roads and unhappy drivers, and couldn’t help but think: getting around should be way more fun and planet-friendly. Since starting in 2014, the e-bike market has exploded. Electric bikes outpaced electric car sales in the US in 2021. With growing competition and consumer demand, Blix hired Motto to elevate its brand, engage new audiences and drive growth.
At the start of every project, each client team collaborates on a business workbook. The workbook teases out brand challenges and exposes brand gaps. The Blix leadership team defined the brand as “inconsistent, undifferentiated, and lacking a true identity.” While the brand was growing, everyone had a different understanding of “Who are we?” and what the brand stood for. The company operated without a north star, and it was time to fix that.
Idea Worth Rallying Around®
Reimagining a brand requires a strategic, systematic process. The process unfolded across a core set of phases and helped Blix navigate a brand refresh successfully. We kept vital parts of the brand and overhauled the pieces that were not.
We often play the role of executive thought partner to our clients. We worked closely with the founder and his team to establish a brand-centric mindset and cast vision. We discussed where the business was, where it was going, and what was needed to elevate the brand experience and become a more influential player in the Ebike market.
The Blix brand strategy was a tool for leadership to create, communicate, and cement the brand’s most excellent value for the audience. To develop effective branding, we defined what the Blix brand stands for. Why it exists, not just what it is. We do this, so the brand has something valuable to say, not just something to sell. Aligning around this strategic thinking enables us to make informed creative decisions. Collectively, these decisions would become the magnetic force that draws people to the brand.
What does it feel like to ride with Blix? The Blix brand voice was crafted to create the feeling we want people to have when they experience Blix. It taps into real emotions from the riders’ experiences and heroes in these stories to inspire others. The brand empowers people to get out there and enjoy every mile. It’s active and confident, ready to give people the boost they need to live life to the fullest.
In the visual language, we consider the ebike the vessel, and the brand around it to be the enabler of experience. The new brand mark is inspired by the bike’s two wheels, arranged in such a way as to suggest movement. We also refreshed the logotype to improve its functionality and readability.
From strategy to verbal to visual to art direction, Motto® developed comprehensive brand guidelines to arm the marketing team with a solid baseline to successfully execute the brand across every communication channel.
