Innovative Marketing and Branding Campaign
Nominee: Enventys
Company: Enventys
Address: 520 Elliot St, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28202
Campaign Name: Voodoo Ride Brand Campaign
Contact: Ron Randle
Phone: 704.333.5335 x240
Email: ron.randle@enventys.com
Executive Summary: Provide an executive-level summary outlining the campaign.
This will provide context and high-level background for the detailed sections in the
remaining sections of the application. 300 word max
Voodoo Ride is a new company, co-founded by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in July, 2007 with a longterm strategic focus on creating branded, lifestyle products with multi-channel category
distribution. Based upon the exposure, popularity and marketing tentacles of Dale Jr.,
Voodoo Ride is positioned to penetrate the retail marketplace with a bold point-of-difference
in terms of message, branding, packaging and product quality in a select number of
relevant categories. Charged with introducing this revolutionary line of new car care
products into an extremely competitive market, Enventys developed a comprehensive
branding campaign that spanned logo, print, Web, POP, retail displays, brochure,
merchandising and packaging applications. Rather than use the Dale Jr. persona, Enventys
created an original and compelling brand, dubbed Voodoo Ride, to create a sense of
mystery about the product and allude to its seemingly magical ability to get cars clean. With
a two-sided packaging design, the products maximize brand recognition by creating a larger
version of the full logo when placed together on store shelves. The brand verbiage never
directly references voodoo, but rather employs an edgy, in-your-face tone that resonates in
car culture with car aficionados. Inspired by warning labels and signs, the retail collateral for
the product combines humor with the defiant tone of the copy to issue a challenge to
consumers, in essence asking them if they are “man enough” to try this superior product.
Business Need, Opportunity, or Problem: How did you determine the need for the
marketing or branding campaign? 300 word max
The Voodoo Ride line of products is truly unlike anything on the market. Mojo transforms
the task of car care from a two or three hour job into one that takes just 30 minutes. But in
a market with hundreds of options available to consumers, even a vastly superior car care
line has to make a serious impression on both consumers and retailers in order to gain any
traction in the market. The Voodoo Ride brand would need to be perceived as legitimate,
believable and credible and would need to be instantly recognizable among the big and
small name product manufacturers on store shelves. By using Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a
marketing accelerator, the campaign offered instant credibility and tapped into an existing
fan base.
Voodoo Ride also presented the opportunity to target a younger demographic who were
open to a fresh approach to car care. The brand needed to connect with consumers
emotionally by creating a distinctive brand attitude that meshed with the attitudes of
consumers who would then incorporate Voodoo Ride as part of their lifestyle. To launch the
product the brand needed to offer something totally new and original. None of the several
major car care companies can match this cleaning technology. Voodoo Ride presented an
opportunity to develop branding that was innovative within the industry in the same way
their high-performance product offered a premium product for car enthusiasts.
Innovativeness: Describe your product or service in terms of its form, features,
and functionality. What makes your marketing or branding campaign innovative?
400 word max
The Voodoo Ride collection of car care products is the strongest, most innovative on the
market. Mojo, its flagship product, dramatically streamlines and enhances the car detailing
experience, allowing users to wash all surfaces on their car from bumper to bumper—a
claim no other product on the market can make.
With such an innovative product, the entire marketing and branding campaign, from the
name and logo to the packaging and in-store displays, needed to position Voodoo Ride as a
lifestyle company and reflect the advancements offered by the Voodoo Ride line. As such,
Voodoo Ride represents a marked departure from the label and product design conventions
and clichés found so often in the car care aisle. The choice was made instead to create
striking packaging that would clearly and consistently stand out from anything else in the
car care aisle, while subtly communicating Voodoo Ride’s superior functionality through
high-quality design. In creating this distinctive brand position, both the design and language
of the brand were given an edgy, irreverent tone that conveys both strength and a sense of
humor. A striking skull logo serves as the centerpiece of the design and immediately signals
to consumers that this product is more powerful and effective than its competitors. The cans
and bottles were created with a 2-sided bottle design with the logo enlarged to create a logo
banner when two bottles are placed side-by side. This inventive design element helps push
the brand mark and make the logo more visible on store shelves.
Mojo is a prime example of the creative steps taken to make the brand stand out. As a
high-end product, Mojo needed something more than the standard aerosol spray can to
provide consumers with an experience equal to the quality of the product. To achieve this
effect, Mojo is packaged as a sleek, slim metal can that features a novel metal twist-close
cap instead of the typical plastic snap lid. This bottle design is not only cooler, but increases
its functionality, allowing for a faster and more simple click-spray-click motion.
Ultimately, the distinct look and attention to detail in all aspects of the Voodoo Ride design
serve to reiterate the brand personality and carve out a unique position in an extremely
crowded market.
Risks and Obstacles: Describe the risks taken in order to initiate, design, develop
and deliver your campaign. What challenges and obstacles were met and how
were they overcome? 220 max
As a new, premium product, research showed that Voodoo Ride would have to overcome
several hurdles to be successful. The car care market is notoriously crowded and extremely
fragmented; the top brand possesses a mere 18% share. Many of the established brands in
this category are 50 to 100 years old and are well known to generations of consumers.
While there is some brand loyalty in this category, it is still a commodity-based market and
consumers are extremely motivated by price.
Voodoo Ride responded to these obstacles with a brand personality, backed by a prominent
celebrity, that created a distinct voice and look within the market. As a new brand, Voodoo
Ride positioned itself as a more technologically advanced alternative to products that had
been around for decades. Full of attitude and fresh ideas, the brand voice was directed
towards younger consumers who were open to a new approach to car care and would
appreciate the superior functionality of the product. The connection to Dale Jr. gave
increased prominence to the brand by creating an emotional connection with the “person”
as opposed to the NASCAR driver to create an instant consumer base to jumpstart sales.
Benefits and Results: Describe how the campaign achieved a superior result? What
metrics were used? What were the major benefits? 200 word max
With a strong and compelling brand personality, Voodoo Ride enjoyed a successful launch at
the 2007 SEMA car specialty products. Since then, interest in the product has continued to
grow. Three major regional chains including Carquest, two large warehouse distributors and
three major internet retailers have signed on. In addition, international distribution deals
have been secured for Canada and Australia. Product movement and velocity off the shelf
has been extremely strong with the primary purchase motivation driven entirely by the
branding and positioning. These results are even more impressive given the lack of a major
national advertising campaign.