SUCCESS STORY
Exciting New Brand Experience
DRAMATIC REBRANDING OF LIBERTY PETROLEUM DISTRIBUTORS
Client: Liberty Petroleum Distributors
Project Timeline: 2020
Services Provided:
Brand Experience Design
The Challenge
Liberty! was founded in 1988 by brothers Sonny and Andy Aulakh. The Aulakhs began by acquiring and running gas stations in New Jersey in 1986, but saw an opportunity to acquire a gas station in northeastern Pennsylvania in 1988, so they moved there.
Over the past few decades, Liberty has expanded in the northeastern Pennsylvania area (around Scranton) and into New York state. The brothers have moved well beyond gas stations as well. Today, Liberty owns: ~30 Travel Plazas/Truck Stops, 21 Quick-Service Restaurants (Burger King, Subway, Tim Hortons), 2 Full-Service Restaurants, 6 Hotels and a petroleum distribution business. With all of those operating businesses, Andy and Sonny employ over 1000 people throughout their businesses.
Facing limitations with the Liberty name and branding scheme, it was time to make a dramatic new change.
The Process
An interesting process with this project, as the leadership had already ideated and embraced a new name, breaking down the word “convoy” into, Onvo.
To develop a new brand around the chosen name, Onvo, the team started at the very beginning with a creative intake process, surveying Liberty’s leadership team about their vision for the new brand. The team translated this vision into a new brand positioning for the brand, capturing what it means to its target audience. From there, the creative team took the wheel with an expansive logo exploration—examining four completely different creative directions, but ultimately landing on the strongest option featuring a brand mascot.
From that point, the creative pieces fell right into place behind the logo and branding. Everything from a completely new digital presence on their website, to coffee mugs. From gas pumps and building signage, to wallpaper patterns and food packaging. All with a creative direction around this idea of being “Always quick. Always kind. Always convenient.”
Problem Solved
By taking a non-word name and giving it strong definition by tying it to a unique mascot meant to illustrate the company’s commitment to providing a friendly, memorable experience, every time, Onvo is now understood, recognizable and embraceable. Our careful introduction of the new brand to all existing stakeholders, with defined explanation of the company’s reasons for making the change and how the brand’s design experience will benefit the company’s growth, has cleared the way for the big launch.
Now, attentive protection of the playful Onvo character, guarding its proper use, developing it further over time, and ensuring its consistently positive application company-wide and throughout the marketplace is certain to strengthen brand loyalty and attract new customers daily.
How exciting it will be to see Onvo building new nests in so many new locations moving forward!
"Working with Muhlenhaupt + Company was an incredibly positive experience for me. Adam and Jen appreciated and recognized my role in the company as COO of the organization and everything that comes with that.
They kept me informed, made great decisions and presented the work effectively throughout the process. All of this was very helpful as I worked to manage the leadership at Onvo.”
GERY DANNIEL, COO - LIBERTY PETROLEUM DISTRIBUTORS / ONVO
