Driving marketing campaigns to new creative heights
Mercedes-Benz Norway uses Vev to supercharge their content, build interest in their cars, and drive valuable conversions
Bertel O. Steen creates marketing content in-house for their automotive brands like Mercedes-Benz, and their sub-brand smart. For the rebrand and relaunch of smart, the marketing team used Vev to create the new website and campaign materials. Now, they’re diving in fully to unlock their full creative potential when it comes to producing show-stopping marketing content at lightning speed.
Industry
Automotive
Headquarters
Norway
Use Cases
Marketing content
Brand campaigns
Landing pages
Slow and not very steady
They were struck by how quickly they were able to learn how to use the tool and create what they had envisioned. Using a tool that is both intuitive and supported by an agile Vev support team, D2 has been able to bring new capabilities to any project.
Expansive and intuitive
It was as simple as that. Vev was the only tool that gave the writers and designers everything they needed to be able to translate their print publication onto the web without sacrificing a single asset. In fact, they could build on existing assets, and enhance their digital look and feel.
Vev quickly rose to the top
It can do things no other platform can
Vev allows for free-flowing creation, through and through. The platform simply does not have the limitations other tools do, like Ceros or Webflow.
Simplified process
With very few hoops to jump through, D2 found the path from idea to final product to be even shorter and even more practical for producing a weekly magazine.
The Challenges
Creating the content we dream of
Bertel O. Steen, like many companies, has teams of designers and marketers with amazing imaginations. However, many of the design tools out there limited what they could actually create themselves. The existing CMS used for another of Bertel O. Steen’s brands, Mercedes-Benz, is module based, which limits creativity as content must slot into predetermined layouts. smart was previously using the same modular system, but it wasn’t cutting it when it came to showcasing a younger, fun and more creative brand. The team working on the smart rebrand and relaunch embarked on a search for a tool that would allow them to make the amazing ideas in their mind a reality.
Delivering under a tight deadline
The marketing team at smart had a tight deadline to meet. When the green light was given for the rebrand and launch, they had two months to ideate, build and publish, so needed to find a tool that allowed them to avoid the traditional lengthy web design process that includes multiple technologies, as well as coding knowledge and developers.
Building interactive, product-specific content
As an automotive brand with such unique and technical products, the marketing team needed a tool that allowed them to showcase the products in an engaging and interactive way. smart were well known for their previous car models (fourtwo and fourfour), but they needed a way to allow people to explore their new car model smart #1 online, without viewing it in person. What made this more of a task is that smart #1 is one model with 3 variations, so one of the most important tasks was to visually differentiate between these variations online. Creating an interactive UX for people to explore these new cars without coding or developers meant the team also required a tool with advanced features.
The Solutions
Free-roaming canvas
Bertel O. Steen, like many companies, has teams of designers and marketers with amazing imaginations. However, many of the design tools out there limited what they could actually create themselves. The existing CMS used for another of Bertel O. Steen’s brands, Mercedes-Benz, is module based, which limits creativity as content must slot into predetermined layouts. smart was previously using the same modular system, but it wasn’t cutting it when it came to showcasing a younger, fun and more creative brand. The team working on the smart rebrand and relaunch embarked on a search for a tool that would allow them to make the amazing ideas in their mind a reality.
End-to-end project control
The marketing team at smart had a tight deadline to meet. When the green light was given for the rebrand and launch, they had two months to ideate, build and publish, so needed to find a tool that allowed them to avoid the traditional lengthy web design process that includes multiple technologies, as well as coding knowledge and developers.
Pre-built interactive design components
As an automotive brand with such unique and technical products, the marketing team needed a tool that allowed them to showcase the products in an engaging and interactive way. smart were well known for their previous car models (fourtwo and fourfour), but they needed a way to allow people to explore their new car model smart #1 online, without viewing it in person. What made this more of a task is that smart #1 is one model with 3 variations, so one of the most important tasks was to visually differentiate between these variations online. Creating an interactive UX for people to explore these new cars without coding or developers meant the team also required a tool with advanced features.
The Results
Creative freedom
Vev has allowed the smart team to shift to a more visually exciting era of content where visual storytelling and interactivity now play a huge part. After rebranding with a completely different look, creating in Vev enabled this rebrand to translate on the web. Smart is playful as a brand, and has a huge focus on the human element. With the previous CMS, the team couldn’t achieve this.
Increased engagement and conversions
The main goal with the smart landing page was to create leads through a form. The brand does not have a webshop or checkout area, but every CTA is to get people to sign up with interest to then eventually buy a car. Within two months of the landing page launching, it had ~50K visitors and over 500 signups. With this success, the team are continuing their use of Vev, expanding their content focuses and finding new uses for the tool.
Cutting costs
With Vev, the Mercedes-Benz team has saved time and therefore money on the smart.no rebrand project. Giving the marketing team end-to-end control meant developer costs were also saved. Along with speedy support from the Vev team and competitive pricing, Bertel O. Steen’s success with Vev is not just seen in the creativity and conversions — Vev is the financially beneficial option to their team.
"Creativity is extremely important for us. Previously we have been limited by a more linear, module-based website and content builder. We have envisioned the smart brand as playful and inspiring — Vev makes this visually possible."
Silje Sitter Harstad, Content Specialist
