Fitch helps Dunlop to get down with kids

Dunlop Tyres is embarking on a new brand strategy this week, created in consultation with Fitch. The move comes in a bid to capitalise on the lifestyle market and attract the younger consumer.

Over the past 18 months, Fitch has been developing a revised brand language for Dunlop, which will be published in a brand book that launches this week. It will cover graphics, typography, photographic and illustration style, as well as brand experience and tone of voice for Dunlop.

Although the brand identity will not change, additional design elements – including dynamic reinterpretations of the Dunlop yellow line and a flag motif picturing the Union Jack rendered in Dunlop colours – will affect the overall look and feel of Dunlop’s 2D and 3D portfolio of existing products.

Fitch has also helped design the company’s first 50-strong merchandise collection, called Dunlop Originals. The range will include a selection of clothing and accessories.

Dunlop is aiming to present an edgier, more urban image, to move away from its typical association with car tyres.

‘We are trying to connect with a younger audience and have revisited core elements of the brand,’ says Geraldine McGovern, Dunlop UK brand manager.

Dunlop is looking to appoint a digital design group, within the next two months, to build a website through which to retail the collection, which will also be sold trackside at Dunlop-sponsored British Touring Car Championship events.