Toyota
Forging a bond between owner and car, and reducing buyer’s remorse via fun exercises, an illustrated timeline of car ownership and regular delivery updates.
This project was a pitch for a new Customer Relationship Management experience. We won.
Agency
Publicis Sapient
Client
Toyota
Tasks
UI, 2/3D Illustration, Creative
Challenge
It can take weeks, even months, to receive a newly purchased car. In that time buyers often start to second-guess their purchase decision: “did I get the right colour?”; “should I have purchased the options-pack?”; “did I get the best deal?”; “did I even buy the right car?”.
Solution
To address buyer's remorse, Publicis Sapient proposed an enhanced CRM experience for Toyota. This involved regular emails and notifications updating customers on their car's status, reducing uncertainty. Additionally, they suggested adding enjoyable moments, such as selecting a free Jelly Belly air freshener for the car.
During the design phase, it was noted that the ideas lacked cohesion. To address this, a central hub was created to deliver updates and notifications, fostering a lasting relationship between customers and their cars.
One evening, I conceived a low-fi, game-like ownership timeline, featuring order processing, build, shipping, vehicle collection, service history, and key milestone updates. This illustrative asset became the centerpiece of the experience, praised for its ability to anthropomorphize the car and enhance the bonding process between buyers and their vehicles.
The designs shown here were created rather rapidly for the pitch and, as such, do not represent fully-refined work
Team & tasks
Team members
Multiple team members consisting of UX, strategy, creative, motion, and 2x designers including myself.
Tasks
Creative, UI design, Illustration (2D & 3D)
Time
10 days pitch
It all starts with naming the car before you receive it, already forging a bond beyond just car and owner. Animated illustrated updates about the car make an otherwise frustrating wait a little more light-hearted.
A gamified timeline of ownership milestones is scrolled, with the car’s position highlighting key moments in the life of the vehicle and the owner.
I created top-down 2D illustrations…
… then I created some accompanying 3D visuals for web and app use that echoed the 2D illustrations. A night and day version was created as a possible response to time of day. The 3D illustration was not presented in the end.
A night version of the 3D illustration. The night style elicits more emotion and the lights of the vehicle and streetlighting create an interesting play of shadows.
Shareable content and exploratory content of the car would keep purchasers excited about the car’s arrival.
We also proposed that free items, like a Jelly Belly air freshener, could engage users and provide rewarding tasks for expectant owners to complete: Watermelon? Mojito? Strawberry? Lemon?
Finally, articles could inspire owners to have adventures with their vehicle, but also inspire them to buy accessories that would enable them to partake in these activities i.e. an avid cyclist could be reminded about the importance of buying a bicycle rack for their car.