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. ​‘The spir­it of 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.

DRI­VING ASPIRATION

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

“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

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.

Turbocharging real meaning with authenticity

We imbued every element of the brand identity with a role and meaning, drawing from the automotive world and Club stories to build connection and authenticity. We created clear design and behavioural guidelines, ran workshops for RAC staff and took the brand beyond the page, into events and Club merchandising.

IMPACT

  • Received the high­est num­ber of mem­ber appli­ca­tions for 16 years 

  • Year on year, total rev­enues increased by 9.5%

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