The Royal Automobile Club

Restoring an iconic club for a new generation

  • Rebrand
  • Brand Strategy
  • Brand Identity
  • Design
  • Messaging
  • Tone of Voice
  • Photography

We put the ​‘A’ back into The RAC Club. By con­nect­ing the Club’s her­itage with a new gen­er­a­tion of mem­bers we drove the high­est num­ber of mem­ber­ship appli­ca­tions for 16 years.

Tak­ing it back to its found­ing sto­ry we made it a home for ​‘adven­tur­er pio­neers’ and cre­at­ed a strik­ing new iden­ti­ty that lov­ing­ly restored the char­ac­ter of this icon­ic Club and cel­e­brat­ed its ethos of always mov­ing forward.

We cre­at­ed a dis­tinc­tive brand expe­ri­ence built from the inside out, re-ener­gis­ing staff, and embed­ding a new set of val­ues and behav­iours into the cul­ture. We drove engage­ment in facil­i­ties and ser­vices, and cre­at­ed a unique brand expe­ri­ence root­ed in the Club’s his­to­ry and with today’s adven­tur­er pio­neers in mind.

Jump straight to the Impact

ALWAYS MOV­ING FORWARD

Like brands, great Clubs endure because they cre­ate a shared ethos and sense of belong­ing, remain­ing rel­e­vant to their mem­bers and the soci­ety in which they exist. ​‘1897 onwards’ sug­gests an organ­i­sa­tion that does­n’t stand still.

ODA took some con­sid­er­able time to research and under­stand the cul­ture of the Club and ensure that the rich her­itage was sus­tained in a cre­ative way.

Miles Wade, Club Secretary The Royal Automobile Club

REIN­STAT­ING THE WHEEL

A lov­ing restora­tion of the orig­i­nal car badge logo­mark put the empha­sis back on shape of the shape of a wheel, and with it the idea of for­ward motion.

FOR­WARD MOTION

A suite of icon­ic tyre tread pat­terns bought uni­ty to Club com­mu­ni­ca­tions. Each tread was care­ful­ly researched and cho­sen to rep­re­sent and cel­e­brate a key moment in British motor­ing and Club history. 

Demon­strat­ing uncom­mon intel­lect and shrewd per­cep­tion, ODA cre­at­ed a mod­ern brand iden­ti­ty sys­tem with a real spark of ingenuity. 

Miles Wade, Club Secretary The Royal Automobile Club

DRI­VING ASPIRATION

New pho­tog­ra­phy cre­at­ed aspi­ra­tion and spoke of occa­sion and vibe rather than place, cre­at­ing a Club peo­ple want­ed to belong to. 

CHAR­AC­TER­FUL COPY

The Club’s new tone of voice is full of char­ac­ter, charm and wit. Warm and wel­com­ing, it makes every­one feel at home. 


IMPACT

  • Received the highest number of member applications for 16 years

  • Year on year, total revenues increased by 9.5%

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