Full Re-Design of Entire Point-of-Purchase Inventory.
I worked in the Midas Marketing Dept. for over ten years, in a variety of different design roles, from temporary graphic artist to photographer to multimedia project manager. I learned a lot about how to navigate the hierarchy of a massive organization while still managing to express my expertise as an artist, no matter what my official title might represent. It was both exhilarating and frustrating, but always presented opportunities for professional growth.
The Process
The previous branding.
The Midas franchise had thousands of auto shops across the country, some company-owned but most owned by franchisees. Each shop had many different branding elements inside and outside, including dozens of point-of-purchase sales materials.
Over many years, as each shop owner had their own schedule of upgrades and ideas about what was necessary and useful... a branding nightmare emerged. I was lucky enough to be on the team when a multi-million dollar push to re-design and refresh every store's marketing materials was initiated. It was a huge project, with many moving pieces, including:
Exterior shop paint and architectural elements
Exterior banners, posters, placards, and roadside signs
Interior POP materials
Digital display UI/UX and content
Advertising flyers, coupons, direct mail, etc.
TV and web commercials
I was involved in every aspect of the project, but where I had the bulk of the process under my control, were mainly in these areas:
Photography and videography (for pre- and post mockups, internal communications, franchisee persuasion videos, etc.)
Design of all point-of-purchase materials
Design work on advertising materials (flyers, coupons, direct mail, etc.)
Inconsistent, visually busy, no hierarchy.
The Results
After years of work, we finally rolled out a fully modernized and cohesive re-design of nearly every point-of-purchase item at this massive automotive industry giant. It was stressful to be so entangled with every aspect of a project this important, but I relished every minute of it.
The resultant shift in imagery and information design was heralded within the company and truly helped us stand out among our biggest competitors. Where automotive service can be seen as a dirty and even scary industry, our new branding helped our customers see Midas as a welcoming and professional place. A place where you could truly begin to trust your auto service techs, rather than feel constantly on guard.
