Principle | Branding & Creative Agency | Dublin, Ireland

OVERVIEW

In a world full of motion, Kearys is constant.

Kearys Motor Group sought to re-energise its brand, reflecting its 40 years of experience, commitment to excellence in after-sales and broad community engagement. The strategic message “In a world full of motion, Kearys is constant” became the foundation for their refreshed identity. A bold new typeface, vibrant colour palette, and dynamic grid system brought energy to the brand, while maintaining consistency through an brand guideline system for their 500+ employees.

Additionally, the K-Electric sub-brand was created to position Kearys as an expert in growing electric vehicles market, providing guidance to customers on their EV choices with a distinctive, approachable identity.


In the rapidly changing face of the motor industry, Kearys Motor Group thought it was the perfect time to re-energise their brand for the journey ahead. If you’re a retailing motor group it can be often difficult to find your own voice amidst the dominance of the various car brands’ own guidelines and rules. Kearys sought to reverse that trend a little by creating a brand identity and narrative that would speak of their expertise, commitment to after-sales and engagement with local community.

Working together with the team in Kearys, the strategic proposition ‘In a world full of motion, Kearys is constant’ is a core statement that the brand is built upon. To begin, we created the ‘K’ mark as an icon for all stakeholders to rally around.

Fuel injected energy.

For the visual identity we drew on the brand’s inherent personality – their positive outlook, their professionalism and progressive nature. We injected a new energy into the brand with a design system that included a bold new typeface, an exciting colour palette and a dynamic pattern grid.

Engaging content has to be balanced by consistency. We developed an online brand guideline system to ensure the brand message is delivered by their 500+ employees with one voice.

Simplicity of message is borne out of their knowledge and experience. Kearys have a wealth of knowledge from their 40 years in the business and we worked closely with them to simplify their messaging and make it more accessible to their audience.

The pattern of things to come.

A dynamic pattern was created using the ‘open road’ denoted in the ‘K’ mark. The pattern works on a grid system in which each section has a moveable element. The pattern also be can be varied using the colour palette, elements of which can be used to accentuate messaging. This creates possibilities for an infinite number of different options for use in the brand, while still keeping a recognisable brand element.

K-Electric.

While many are sitting on the fence on promoting electric vehicles (EV), Kearys Motor Group have no such doubt. It’s the future and they are embracing it wholeheartedly. Creating a knowledge centre for consumers unsure of the whether to move to EV’s, Kearys have the expertise to help motorists navigate the choice of all EV brands to decide which car is best suited to their needs, if at all.

We were asked to develop an autonomous identity that would fit comfortably inside the parent Kearys Motor Group brand. The brand should to express that Kearys had answers and solutions to the numerous questions about electric vs hybrid vs petrol/diesel vehicles that motorists were asking on a daily basis. We created a specific brand within the Keary family. This was the birth of K-Electric. The brand was launched at Cork Chambers Annual Dinner event, along with a 60-second video that we conceived and produced for the event using footage from the car manufacturers themselves as well filming provided by Made to Measure Films in Cork.

WHAT WE DELIVERED

Brand Strategy

– Stakeholder Interviews
– Workshop
– Brand Alignment
– Brand Positioning
– Tone of Voice
– Messaging

Brand Identity

– Visual Brand Identity
– Verbal Brand Identity
– Brand Guidelines

Brand Expression

– Forecourt & Event 
– Video
– Digital Marketing

If you’re a retailing motor group it can be often difficult to find your own voice amidst the dominance of the various car brands’ own rules. Kearys sought to reverse that trend.

Engaging content has to be balanced by consistency. We developed an online brand guideline system to ensure the brand message is delivered by their 500+ employees with one voice.

The pattern works on a grid system in which each section has a moveable element. This creates possibilities for an infinite number of different options for use in the brand, while still keeping a recognisable brand element.

Kearys took the EV lead, helping motorists navigate the market and decide which car best suited their needs, if at all. We built out an identity that would fit comfortably inside the parent brand.

Just putting the final touches to our preparation for our sponsorship of the Cork Chamber Dinner this evening and I felt it would be remiss of me not to compliment you and your team profusely for the incredible work that you have all put in to helping us show ourselves in the best light tonight.

It is hard to believe that it would be possible to achieve the brief. However, the team at Principle have absolutely nailed it.

Well done and thank you so much. We look forward to continuing on our re-branding journey together.

Bill Keary

Chairman, Kearys Motor Group

We’d love to chat about your new brand, brand refresh, campaign creative or ongoing design needs.