The car is dead. Long live the car!
For the carsharing platform HoppyGo, we've completely redesigned the website, created a brand manual, and refreshed their communication. We drew on our own UX research and underlined the reasons why one car is sometimes not enough - and built a catchy website with strong positive emotion and readable dynamic claim that mirrors customers' needs.
CHALLENGE
We live in a country where 93 % of the population owns a car and has a strong personal relationship with it. That's why a functioning carsharing peer-to-peer platform needs to think about the real reasons for people to share and rent their cars - and address them in their communication. In other words, we decided to send the whole service into a crash test and come up with a better body instead of a cosmetic facelift.
SOLUTION
We took the service apart and ran it through our own user journey review. The research revealed the fundamental facts - ideological and lifestyle choices such as a desire to support the sharing economy or a greener environment are not enough. We had to find and name individual reasons people need another car in case they already have one. We defined the exact situations and customers and found a specific language for them - both verbal and visual.
Measure twice, cut once
A comparison of previous campaigns, competitor services, and most importantly, our own research, helped us to define the view of HoppyGo as a service that is used by a broad group of people several times a year, not a narrow group every day.
Our vision was to be the first choice for those who need a different car or simply don't have a car. But since 93 % of Czechs own a car, HoppyGo needs to be communicated as something that doesn't go against that, but as a functional complement to owning a vehicle.
This research phase turned out to be the perfect building block for the future website and communication. How to adequately address the fluid nature of the service? Let's build a dynamic tagline. Sometimes you need a van. Sometimes you need a sports car.
Get rid of the frowzy look
We wanted to differentiate the design of the website from the ordinary-looking catalogs of car rental shops. Firstly because of its visual "frowziness", and secondly because of the differently defined service. Rental suggests a place is open during specific hours, is nonflexible, and complicated. But HoppyGo is the complete opposite. It is easy to use with a community-like feeling, dynamic, and adaptable to your needs and moods.
That's why we decided to add some overall “fun” feeling to the website. We chose a bold look with emojis to accompany the dynamic headline. A suggestive question greets the visitor on the front page. Where do you want to pick up your car? When and for how long? Specific situations, specific motivations. Only then it's time to see the range of cars. The site has been through a hardcore UX test. We checked if visitors understood what was in front of them, the nature of the service, and the whole experience. We removed any obstacles that would hinder an easy ride. Sometimes you just need... a functional website.
