Rebranding SGN's existing vehicle fleet adds value
SGN is an energy network and utilities supplier serving homes and businesses in Scotland and the south of England. It operates a diverse vehicle fleet across both regions, with over 2,000 vans, cars and truck variants.
We've worked with SGN in its current and previous brand identities for approaching a decade, supplying a full vehicle livery management service from design to aftercare.
In September 2013, Scotia Gas Networks approached us with a project, which would involve the full rebrand of its vehicle fleets for both its Southern Gas Networks and Scotland Gas Networks sub-brands.
It was our opportunity to demonstrate how we thrive when it comes to complex rebrand projects.
The challenge is set
The idea was to eliminate the regional aspects of the utilities company's livery and consolidate its operations under one “SGN” brand throughout the UK to better present the business' strength and reach.
One of the biggest challenges facing SGN was the lack of suitable premises where the rebrand could be carried out (enclosed, undercover and warm). With almost 1,600 existing vehicles to be rebranded, SGN needed our expertise to come up with the best solution to complete the project as seamlessly and efficiently as possible.
Key Objectives:
- Efficiently manage rollout of the new brand design across all existing vehicles.
- Implement new Chapter 8 reflective safety markings to the rear of the fleet.
- Manage multiple vehicle types & conditions & remove all existing livery.
- Minimise the downtime of each vehicle being off the road.
- Cater for the wide geographical spread of vehicles & lack of locations.
- Coordinate additional suppliers works into the programme.
- Add value to the rebrand through additional services.
- Manage ongoing maintenance & aftercare requirements.
Oh and do it all in 8 months.
No problem too big
After several meetings looking at various designs, a final concept was created for us to prototype. Well received it gave the chance to look at the logistics and final scope of the project.
There were a several challenges to overcome that were taken on by our Brand Implementation team to ensure the smooth set-up and delivery of the project.
Requirements for the rebrand included the cleaning and valeting of vehicles and due to the mix of new and old, we also needed to remove existing graphics. Not to mention the need to source third party locations to carry out the work, which had to be finished in a very strict deadline.
After numerous site visits, we acquired two temporary locations. One in the Glasgow area, the other close to Gatwick Airport. The Glasgow premises was a leased property, perfect for the scale of the project, while in West Sussex — where commercial property is at a premium — we erected a temporary (enclosed & heated) unit on the site of an existing SGN Car Park for the duration of the programme.
Both sites had to be big enough to accommodate 10 vehicles each day with space for cleaning and valeting. At the height of the project we were completing 100 vehicles a week, rebranding the entire fleet in under 6 months.
We also coordinated SGN's tracker technology partner to install new systems, as well as making time for SGN to audit each van and its equipment. The shedding of weight from the fleet vehicles led to a massive fuel saving post project.
