Landor Associates has won a credentials pitch to develop the brand identity of Think City. The new electric car represents plans by manufacturing giant Ford to help to shape its transport strategy for the next millennium.
The environmentally friendly car, developed and produced in Norway where it went on sale in November, is expected to be given a worldwide launch at Motor Show 2000 in Detroit.
Its development ties in with wide-ranging restructuring plans currently being introduced by Ford president and chief executive Jacques Nasser. The changes aim to make Ford more responsive to consumer demand, and to shift part of its emphasis from merely manufacturing and selling cars towards servicing long-term customer relationships.
Landor will create a brand architecture, house style and retail environment for Think, which is likely to be distributed and serviced by Hertz, Ford’s car hire subsidiary.
“In an age of transportation melt down this is a story of urban empowerment,” says Landor executive creative director Peter Knapp. Nasser says additional Think-branded products are to be developed.
Think will be developed as a sub-brand, rather than as simply an additional model range, says Knapp. This strategy could be seen as an extension of current Ford branding strategy, whereby individual models such as the Ka and Puma are given strong identities of their own, while retaining an umbrella Ford branding.
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