The new marketing strategy and tone aim to represent externally Renault’s disruption announced last January in the Renaulution plan, and they are already showing positive results
The new marketing strategy and tone aim to represent externally Renault’s disruption announced last January in the Renaulution plan, and they are already showing positive results. In 2021, the brand won 29 national and international marketing awards for its new logo, brand identity and campaigns that resonate strongly with the modern society.
This year has marked a turning point for Renault, as the brand is entering a new era and launching its own “Nouvelle Vague” with the aim of bringing modernity to the European automotive industry by becoming a tech, service, and clean energy brand. As part of these global changes, Renault’s marketing department assumed the role of helping to clearly reflect the disruption of the brand in its external campaigns and communications.
Since the beginning, the “Nouvelle Vague” in Renault’s marketing strategy has been well received by the brand’s customers and fans, as well as by national and international experts. In fact, Renault stood out in a number of categories receiving 29 awards, 65% of which were international prizes.
Renault marketing team
On 1 January 2021, Renault established its first centralised global marketing department, to foster creativity, ensure a more consistent advertising and social media discourse, and boost efficiency for greater value creation.
The main objective of the Renault central global marketing department is to make the brand stronger, more robust and a love brand around the world, says Arnaud Belloni, Renault Global Marketing Director. To achieve this, only in 2021 we have produced and implemented 48 global 360° campaigns for the entire world, strongly focussing on the current social trends and habits.
In 2021, the Renault marketing team came up, implemented, and produced all the content for the more than forty global campaigns, delivering ready‑to‑use material suitable for the brand’s markets all over the world.
A new brand identity
According to Renault Global Marketing Director Arnaud Belloni, overhauling the brand’s entire visual identity, logo and advertising was one of the first steps in representing the disruption of the brand, and bring it closer to the society. The new Renault identity needed to encapsulate the “Nouvelle Vague” era the brand has entered and showcase its new values – modernity, technology, as well as the coolness of French electropop culture.
Initially planned for January 2022, the launch of the updated Renault diamond was brought forward by 10 months to send out a strong message to customers and the wider public. The nineth version of the iconic Renault logo was proudly displayed for the first time at the announcement of the Renaulution strategic plan in January 2021 and, since then, it has been gradually unfolding into all marketing assets and social media platforms, grabbing everybody’s attention.
The Club des Directeurs Artistiques awarded the Renault diamond logo a prize in the motion design category last July, while TOP/COM Consumer experts honoured it with the gold prize for the 2021 best logo last November.
Renault brand campaigns
Both the form and content of Renault’s marketing assets has changed, transforming the face of the company across the board. For its campaigns, the marketing team decided to tap into and underline different social aspects and habits, to make them resonate powerfully with the final customer. This strategy clearly paid off, as Renault brand films received a number of national and international awards.
The advertising for the new Renault ZOE, The Chase, underscores the always growing society movement to switch to electric mobility, on four or two wheels, while shedding the light on the model’s sales results in Europe, where it is the best-selling electric vehicle. It was also the first advertisement to feature the renewed Renault logo, and has won the gold prize at the 2021 TOP/COM Grands Prix Consumer awards.
The Renault Renew campaign sought to underline Renault’s image as a brand ahead of times and in tune with the modern consumer trend of buying second-hand and refurbished products. This idea, in line with the current society habit, won Renault a total of four prizes – gold at the TOP/COM Grands Prix Consumer 2021, silver at the 2021 Shots Awards, as well as two bronze prizes at the London International Awards.
The Renault Clio campaign, The French Exchange, touched the heart of people by underlining how the model is a true compaignon in the life of Renault customers, while capturing the iconic personality of a vehicle that is a real success story and pillar of the brand. This film took home bronze at the Club des Directeurs Artistiques and silver at the 2021 Shot Awards.
On its side, Renault Care Services, The Feeling, featuring the historic Renault Fuego, highlights the brand’s experience, leadership, and commitment to its after-sales service, that grants Renault models a long life as “voitures à vivre”. A topic that has never been so important to the society, as in these times taking care of things and people is back in the top list of the modern fundamental values. This film earned Renault marketing silver at the 2021 Shots Awards.
Last but not least, Renault Electric Village saw the brand create the first electric village in Appy. A town in the French Pyrenees where all families received a Renault ZOE to help them in their daily commutes, including to the nearest supermarket 20 kilometres away.
The Renault way to foster a new social trend of shifting to electro-mobilty and to show that it is possible to imagine a more sustainable future everywhere, even outside urban areas was recognized by French experts with: three prizes at the Grand Prix du Brand content; gold and bronze prizes from the Club des Directeurs Artistiques; and bronze at the Grand Prix Strategies de la Publicité.
Internationally, with Renault the Electric Village the brand took home: two silver prizes at the Clio Awards; the D&AD “graphite pencil” award; bronze at the One Show awards; the grand prize as well as gold and bronze prizes at Cannes Lions; silver at The Gerety Awards; as well as three bronze prizes, one silver and one gold at the London International Awards.
SOURCE: Renault
Keyword: The “Nouvelle Vague” in Renault’s marketing strategy