The original brief was focused on brand awareness, a legitimate and important question. But as we explored the full context together, it became clear that the real opportunity sat deeper: in how the brand was defined, how the portfolio was structured, how consumers were experiencing every touchpoint from first encounter through to aftersales, and what the ideal future experience should look and feel like. The client, to their credit, saw it immediately, and their enthusiasm to pursue it set the tone for everything that followed.
Case study
A Driven Team, A Bigger Ambition, A Brand Built For The Future
Company
SAIC Motor
Industry
Automotive
Challenge
Elevating brand strategy beyond awareness into full brand transformation
Impact
From a focused brief to a brand ethos, portfolio clarity, customer journey blueprint, and a strategy presented at the national dealers conference
A high-performing automotive team came in with a clear brief and something rarer, genuine drive to build something lasting, not just commission a deliverable. When we shared our perspective that the opportunity in front of them was larger than the original scope, they didn't hesitate. Their eagerness to think bigger and their deep ownership of the outcome made the expanded ambition not just possible, but inevitable.
Together, we reimagined the brief, shifting the lens from a single metric to a holistic view of the brand, the customer journey across sales, aftersales and service, and the road ahead.
The challenge
The ambition deserved a bigger stage
The solution
Six phases. One direction. Built to last.
We designed six interlocking phases, each feeding the next, none done in isolation. Starting with social listening and market pulse, moving through expert and industry interviews, a full market assessment, consumer segmentation, mystery shopping, and customer satisfaction research. Every insight had somewhere to land.
A defining part of the work was a comprehensive mapping of the customer journey, documenting the as-is reality across every sales, aftersales, and service touchpoint, then co-designing the ideal to-be experience the brand should aspire to deliver. This gave the organization not just a strategic direction, but a concrete blueprint for how consumers should feel at every stage of their relationship with the brand.
All phases converged in a full strategy, not a report handover, and brought to liffe in a session where it was pressure-tested, debated, and owned by the client team from day one. From there, we developed the brand ethos, contribution framework, and communication architecture, giving each model in the lineup a sharper and more purposeful role, differentiated by segment, price point, size, and origin story. Consumer segments became the primary strategic lens, defining with precision which territories to own and which battles would be won.
The work was ultimately presented by VGM at the national dealers conference, adopted as the brand's way forward.
Results
"The research delivered was well-structured and provided valuable insights that helped shape our brand fundamentals and customer journey.What stood out was the ability to translate findings into practical outputs that we can build on moving forward. The approach was thoughtful and grounded, giving us a solid starting point."
6
Phass delivered end-to-end
Ideal
Customer Journey cascaded to dealers
5
years strategy in place
