iris creates global campaign for Shell
March 11th, 2010
Our challenge was to come up with a global brand positioning and communications toolkit that would support Shell’s Global Territory Managers as they talk to potential dealers. Forget corporate, chest-beating images of petrol pumps and men on forecourts, this had to look and sound different in the world of fuel retailing.
It’s aimed at people who are looking for a business to run and manage themselves. They might be looking at all types of opportunities, but we had to make sure that Shell was the Fuel retailer brand of choice for this kind of investment opportunity.
But what makes Shell different? It’s their brand, their history, their technical standards, their relationship with Ferrari and their products. But most importantly for potential franchisees, they’re all about working together. With long-term support from Shell at every stage in the process, this is an opportunity that can really deliver.
So, instead of one giant handbook on what Shell is all about, our approach was to portray the different aspects of being in a relationship with Shell as a journey. We broke it down into five smaller brochures, each taking the reader through one step of the journey. And we named the project ‘Ignition’ – it’s about sparking the start of something together, the beginning of a new working relationship.
We gave the brochures their own identity – a friendlier, less corporate look and feel, using a distinctive illustration style. While the use of iconography, such as oil tankers, fuel pumps, motor cars and oil rigs, synonymous with the Shell Brand, still features throughout the communication materials, it’s the unique illustrative style that provides a fresh perspective to the content, and better reflects the modern Shell brand strategy – passionate, problem solving and creative.
The copy had to be different too. It had to be friendly, focusing on people rather than corporate power or chest beating, with the intention of planting the seed of collaboration in the minds of the target audience, of working together to make a difference.
The campaign is due to launch in more than 30 countries around the world including UK, Turkey, Brazil, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Nordics, Australia, Thailand, Philippines, Canada, South Africa, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Shell - trade ad 2
Shell Trade ad