Keeping one of the UK's largest vehicle fleets on the road
British Gas is one of the UK's leading energy & home services providers and operates one of the largest vehicle fleets in the country. Its commercial van fleet is a key part of the British Gas business and its livery fundamental to its brand.
We worked with British Gas and other parts of the Centrica Group for over 25 years providing a complete vehicle branding and livery management service for its fleet.
During that time the fleet took on many different guises with the most recent being the implementation of the new “Twisted Ribbon” design.
A subtle twist on a classic
With thousands of vans, each seen by hundreds of potential and existing customers everyday, it was important that everyone is consistent with the brand, presenting the company in its best colours at all times.
Key service objectives:
- Ensure vehicle livery was cost effective & durable.
- Manage multiple vehicle types & legacy livery designs.
- Incoporate compliant chapter 8 conspicuity safety markings.
- Roll-out new designs & new build programmes with speed & efficiency.
- Effectively maintain the fleet livery to minimise vehicle off road (VOR) related costs.
- Design & implement regular promotional liveries & sponsorship wraps.
The latest livery, designed to evolve the British Gas corporate flame, focuses on its “twist” element with the idea of giving the vehicles increased brand coverage and impact, whilst simplifying other livery elements.
We worked closely with the client's branding agency, helping them make the design work in reality, so the concept could be taken from the art-board to what you see on the roads.
Saving money without affecting brand impact
The original designs for the livery included a lot more graphics than those that made the final cut, which would have demanded a higher per vehicle cost. British Gas, keen not to water down the impact of design and the brand, needed to ensure the costs made sense too. We adapted the design saving British Gas money with an extremely cost effective solution that didn't compromising the initial branding concept.
Support & services:
We worked closely with British Gas, its vehicle manufacturers, converters, leasing company and accident management provider on all aspects of its vehicle livery requirements.
After the new livery was introduced, some of the vehicle conversion moved to be carried out overseas. We provided consultancy and project management services to help British Gas streamline the livery supply chain across Europe. This ensured new build deadlines stayed on track, as well as continuity of supply and brand consistency being maintained over the life of the vehicles.
