MOIA - VOLKSWAGEN GROUP

MOIA is the Volkswagen Group’s 13th brand – and one that as a service orientated mobility brand, is very different from the others. One that will be reshaping how we move around cities for the next century.

Brand Fundamentals / Naming

We started our collaboration with the brand that would become ‘MOIA’ with a brand therapy workshop – an intensive off-site workshop with external speakers and stimulus where brand secrets are unlocked. We put the clients ‘on the couch’ and listen hard to discover answers that lie within. The insights informed the MOIA Brand Fundamentals and a vision to ‘Return Cities to the People’. Later these Brand Fundamentals were packaged into an internal brand film and brand book. We observed that the fast emerging mobility category was dominated by brands with a functional and very masculine feel. Inspired by Arthur C. Clarke’s famous quote we discovered the Sanskrit word ‘Maya’ which translates to Magic. Some word play turned it into MOIA. A name that we discovered contained a reference to both the VW heritage (the M and A inverted) and the brands digital core (the ‘zero’ and ‘one’).

Brand design / rollout / communication

We created an elegant and simple identity system, based loosely on Bauhaus principles and with a strong connection to the original Volkswagen Futura typeface – linking this rich past to an exciting new future. We developed all of the brand and visual guidelines based on the belief that the identity of a brand can no longer be static. The MOIA brand guidelines are a living document and a constantly evolving entity – holistic, flexible, human. As well as guidelines we created brand photography and executed the rollout across every touchpoint – from business cards to exhibition stands. To launch the brand as a late arrival in a cluttered category we needed a big, bold and attention grabbing claim – we crunched the data and committed that Moia’s ride sharing and pooling services would remove one million cars from the roads by 2025. A claim that was bound to provoke a reaction when its made by a company that’s part of worlds biggest car manufacturer. This pledge was announced by CEO Ole Harms to huge international media attention at TechCrunch Berlin 2017. And became the central to the PR launch idea and the TechCrunch stand design. The launch campaign was capped off with a film spread through PR and social and shown live at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin 2017, called ‘The Empty Seat’. The film was the first time the world had seen the brand new ‘designed-for-sharing’ MOIA vehicle and highlighted MOIA’s unique solution to get the world to want to share their ride with others.