Zeta case study presentation

CASE STUDY

CMB help Zeta introduce autonomous technology into commercial vehicle sectors

Accelerating the rate of brand acceptance

BackgroundZeta Automotive designs, develops and supplies cutting-edge electronic, autonomous control systems that enable commercial vehicle fleets to reduce fuel consumption and cut CO2 output. Zeta Automotive were acquired by Arriva PLC, following successful trials of their flagship product, EconoSpeed.

EconoSpeed automatically moderates a vehicle’s acceleration to provide optimum engine performance, cutting fuel consumption and reducing CO2 emissions. It delivers a wide range of additional features and benefits, from increased safety to reduced vehicle maintenance.

CMB help Zeta introduce new technology to commercial vehicle sectors

Driver accelerates

EconoSpeed moderates acceleration

Engine performs to optimum level

for required demand

CMB were asked to develop and deploy a marketing strategy to achieve the following:

• Identify commercially viable fleet sectors suitable for EconoSpeed

• Build brand awareness for both Zeta Automotive and the EconoSpeed product

• Gain market penetration into target sectors

• Generate leads for trials of EconoSpeed

ChallengesThe UK bus market is highly competitive and dominated by 5 major national operators, with multiple smaller fleets. Most major operators were aware of the link (ownership) of Zeta Automotive and Arriva and some saw any purchase or partnership with Zeta as aiding their biggest competitor.

EconoSpeed is a complex product, using autonomous technology that isn’t widely understood. A level of ‘education’ and problem awareness would need to be built into the campaign to place EconoSpeed as the best solution.

Each target sector had a different hierarchy of needs and problems to be solved. This created an issue with developing an overall brand message. The brand ‘story’ had to be created differently for each sector.

The original business model set by Zeta was to offer EconoSpeed on a trial basis. This would give operators the ability to minimize risk and see the benefits for themselves, before committing to large-scale purchase and roll-out into their own fleets.

ObjectivesEconoSpeed was installed in Arriva’s entire UK bus fleet, delivering fuel savings of up to 14%. Faced with these huge savings, they saw an opportunity to extend its commercial viability by offering EconoSpeed to the wider commercial vehicle market.

Fleet operators occasionally faced negative reception towards fitting the EconoSpeed product from their drivers, as it altered the characteristics of driving the vehicles. This led to some drivers attempting to bypass and in some cases, even remove, EconoSpeed from their vehicles during operating trials.

Ultimately this caused some rather skewed trial data. To counter this, we delivered driver awareness programs to inform them of why EconoSpeed was fitted and what it was designed to achieve.

CMB Automotive Marketing | T: +44 (0) 1327 856102 | www.cmbautomotive.com

“The CMB Automotive team showed a thorough understanding of the marketplace Zeta were aiming at. They helped us make some critical decisions about our brand strategy for entry in to new sectors.”

Peter Lumsden General Manager, Zeta Automotive

Insights and ObservationsA significant insight we identified was that the customers we targeted would be operating fleets of over 500 vehicles. This meant that at £1500 per vehicle to fit EconoSpeed, it would be a sizeable investment. Fleet managers were cautious about any investment at any level, especially with a ‘new’ technology. Our marketing efforts would need to take into account the ‘fear factor’ and incorporate lead nurturing techniques, ultimately leading to offering EconoSpeed on a trial basis (and helping mitigate risk and boost confidence).

Being aware that much of the UK and most of Europe’s transport infrastructures are rapidly being developed and prepared for future technical innovations, we were able to help Zeta explore opportunities outside of the brand awareness and sales based objectives.

Some of these developments include digital mapping of major cities and the upgrading of GPS satellite technology infrastructure. This tied in with technology Zeta Automotive had developed and presented an opportunity for Zeta to work with Transport for London on an Intelligent Speed Adaptation system using geo-fencing technology.

Road casualties, insurance and vehicle operating costs in both UK and mainland Europe are significant issues. Despite caution to spend, fleet operators are actively looking for workable, economic solutions to reduce costs. This presented an opportunity for Zeta to place themselves as a preferred solution to fit the market.

The UK fleet industry currently has no government regulation but is under close scrutiny, with many operators seeing this as an increasingly likely event. They are keen to avoid government intervention and are moving towards self-regulation and best practice with the Fleet Excellence Initiative. This initiative encourages fleet operators to abide by best practice and self-enforcement.

Zeta is ideally placed to offer a solution to most major fleet operators either through EconoSpeed or other stand-alone products, that can help fleets operate within their own set guidelines. Taking advantage of the growing desire to conform to the Fleet Excellence Initiative was an opportunity to drive brand awareness and sales leads.



To support build up to show events and ensure good interest and footfall, we deployed direct marketing campaigns promoting Zeta’s participation. In addition, we placed strategic advertising and press releases in the months leading up to the events. Social media activity was ramped up, creating an all-round media buzz. Finally, personalised invites were printed and sent out to key prospects and customers.

This integrated approach was particularly successful with website analytics showing significant ‘spikes’ in terms of visits to key landing pages and relevant web page click-through, in-line with PR, direct mail campaigns and media attention.

CMB designed and deployed a 360º marketing campaign including:

• Defining key brand messages – per sector

• Events program – 9 key trade shows, including: event coordination, booth design, show support and promotion

• Website design and management

• Search Engine Optimisation

• App development: Interactive fuel-saving calculator, data capture, media library

• Video and animation

• Email marketing

• Lead generation and nurturing

• ‘Sales Toolkit’: business stationery, presentation templates, marketing and sales literature

• Brochure design and writing

• Advertising

• Highly personalised direct mail

• Media liaison and management

• Social media strategy and management

• Technical content creation

• Driver education programs

Market IdentificationCollaborating with Zeta and Arriva, CMB undertook market research to help identify the most viable market sectors to target. Defining 5 possible commercial fleet areas, we quickly realised this would stretch the limited marketing budget too far to be effective and achieve real market penetration. Subsequently, we recommended streamlining the marketing campaign to focus on just three segments; Bus & Coach, Refuse & Recycling and Multi-drop Light Goods Vehicles (LGV).

Once the three sectors were agreed, we analysed and defined their individual hierarchy of needs and drivers. This information allowed us to define the key messages for each sector and best align EconoSpeed’s benefits to meet their individual requirements.

Brand Development The next phase was to get EconoSpeed into the market place and start to build brand recognition and lead generation.

Along with industry events, we developed a strong online and digital marketing base for Zeta, allowing greater support, brand presence and a mechanism to measure marketing success and identify approaches that lacked the desired impact.

What we did...


Notable achievements include:• Secured contract to trial EconoSpeed with

a major UK national bus operator (with a fleet in excess of 1000 vehicles)

• Contract won with logistics and delivery company to deploy EconoSpeed on their entire fleet

• Helped to put Zeta in front of Transport for London, ultimately leading to a high profile trial of Zeta’s Intelligent Speed Adaptation. This trial attracted national press interest, including television news reports

• Multiple contracts with public sector organisations, incorporating EconoSpeed in refuse and recycling fleets

• Significantly improved brand awareness in UK and European bus markets

• Successfully introduced EconoSpeed and Zeta brands into multi-drop LGV and Refuse Collection markets

• Explored partnerships with OEMs offering EconoSpeed as part of aftermarket service offer

• First page Google rankings for 9 out of 10 key search phrases

• Multiple leads gained from both event marketing and digital platforms

What we achieved...

Event marketing

App development


What they say...

“CMB have played a key role in the development of our longer term strategy, brand image and marketing assets. They have demonstrated a thorough understanding of the core market sectors we target and have been instrumental in identifying and highlighting our key benefits in these markets areas, therefore making an important contribution toward our ongoing success.”

Lauren PopplewellMarketing Manager, Zeta Automotive

What we say“It’s been a privilege and a pleasure to have had an input in the success of the brand and the growth of Zeta Automotive and EconoSpeed. Helping them develop from an unknown brand to the point where they’re receiving national TV coverage has been very satisfying for me and all my team.”

Chris Bowers CEO, CMB Automotive Marketing

Marketing literature

Video and animation

Exhibition design and management

CMB Automotive Marketing Limited

Innovation Centre, Silverstone Circuit , Northamptonshire NN12 8GX. UK

t: +44 (0) 1327 856102 e: [email protected] www.cmbautomotive.com

Zeta case study presentation

Automotive

Transcript of Zeta case study presentation