Michelin
The CEO of a new division of Michelin is building something entirely new: a suite of technology-powered solutions to provide fleet support for safer, more efficient and more sustainable customer operations.
Michelin is a French multinational tire manufacturing company with more than $30 billion in annual revenue. The markets it serves are facing considerable disruption. Its largest commercial customers are struggling to deploy digital technologies to transform themselves … and expect their suppliers to help them on this journey. At the same time, these large customers are facing mounting pressure to achieve ambitious sustainability goals. And the pressure to operate ever more efficiently is relentless. The head of Michelin’s Solutions and Services division saw this disruption as an opportunity for Michelin to become an even more indispensable partner to customers by launching a new business devoted completely to technology-enabled offerings for commercial customers.
Comprehensive research, including both management and customer interviews, underscored the need for the types of solutions Michelin could provide: high-tech tires, tire performance optimization, predictive maintenance and connected fleet management. Yet even current customers were not aware of the full portfolio of Michelin’s tech solutions. A plethora of sub-brands only exacerbated this lack of clarity. The Michelin brand was universally associated with quality and stability … but not necessarily with cutting edge technology. And customers were unclear as to how Michelin’s solutions worked together to benefit their organizations … and themselves.
The new brand underscores how Michelin’s technology solutions enhance the customer’s efficiency and sustainability. But it goes further to emphasize that these solutions empower the buyers themselves to achieve their ambitions. This empowerment brand forges a direct and authentic connection between Michelin and the customer. “Here, we strive to not only enrich your lives, but also to elevate you in your roles for the long term—so you can build organizations that are stronger, more sustainable and always ready for tomorrow. Because at Michelin, our mission is to forge a better life in motion, together.”
The new visual identity for the division leverages iconic visual elements from the parent brand while creating a distinctive new look and feel that balances an innovative technology offering with a more human-centered spirit.
We restructured the division’s brand architecture and nomenclature framework to better align it with buyer behavior and create brand cohesion. To support this masterbrand approach, the division was launched with a new name, Michelin Connected Mobility, signaling a business focused on making connections in every sense of the word.
DeSantis Breindel brilliantly leveraged our legacy while creating a distinct and exciting brand for a new part of our business.
