Client
SMCU
Tools
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe After Effects
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Google Web Designer
My role
  • Creative Director
  • Illustrator/Designer
Deliverables
  • Retail signage
  • Mailers
  • Social media graphics
  • Digital advertising banners
  • 30-second animation
  • Responsive webpages

Ride off in your dream car

An integrated advertising campaign for SMCU to promote their competitive auto loan products. I was the creative director and designer on this project. The brief was to increase qualified leads for auto loans over the first two quarters of the year.

In examining the data of what kinds of vehicles customers were purchasing through SMCU, we saw a very broad range of new and used cars, trucks, and SUVs. This sparked the idea that everyone’s dream car is different. Sure, in some cases someone wants a shiny new sports car to cruise down the interstate, but for many others, a vehicle that is just reliable is dream come true.

The creative pairs “everyday” vehicles with famous ones pulled from different subsets of pop culture. We have the Doc’s DeLorean from Back to the Future, Brian’s supped up Mitsubishi Eclipse from the original Fast and the Furious, Speed’s Mach 5 from Speed Racer, The Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo, and more; sprinkled in a tapestry of more practical automobiles that you likely pass on the road on the way to work each day.

I created direct mail pieces, retail signage, digital banners, social media advertisements, and a set of motion graphics for use on the SMCU website and at branches with retail monitors. Not only did we exceed the auto loan production goal by over 65%, but members also commented on the artwork and asked to take the retail signage home when the promotion ended.

Designing Reusable Assets

When working on projects for SMCU, a common ask is to think of reusability to maximize the value of each project. Before designing the assets I created a new swatch palette that could be used to make all of the vehicles appear as a part of the same family. This included developing a consistent design system for applying highlights and shadows for each primary color. I also included an Adobe Illustrator document that featured different artboards for each vehicle and a campaign style-guide for laying out the typography and using the swatch palette so future collateral could be produced to match this aesthetic.

eclipse
mustang

Results

432

First-time customers during campaign

1214

Auto loans applied for during campaign

167

Above campaign goal