Liv

Country Base: Taiwan
Industry/Sector/Keywords: Sporting Goods, Apparel, Retail Stores, Women, Fitness, Cycling
Below: Before and After Images in Slide Show, Summary, Credits

Industry Setting

In 2008, Giant Bicycles, the world’s largest bicycle manufacturer, introduced a new cycling brand—Liv/giant—focused exclusively on the female market. Following a successful launch in Taiwan and Japan, Giant moved to consolidate female products in all markets under the single Liv/giant brand in 2011.

Challenge

Although consolidation of female products under a single brand offered the promise of global consistency, the opposite proved to be the result. While products shared the Liv/giant name, regional offices continued to act independently in the creation of imagery and messaging. The result was a disjointed Liv/giant brand, driven by regional expectations rather than an over-reaching global strategy or plan. Inconsistencies contributed to a lack of confidence in the brand among some of the company’s regional offices, and an absence of collaboration resulted in missed opportunities to strengthen the brand’s communications with the desired female audience.

Strategy

Realizing the weight of these challenges, Liv/giant initiated a global audit of the brand in 2013. The audit led to a new brand strategy, with the catalyst ‘making cycling approachable and appealing for women’ at its core. The rebrand brought clarity to Liv’s efforts internally, uniting regional teams under a common purpose. The concept also drove a re-imagining of identity, messaging and retail experience. To demonstrate commitment to its female audience, Liv/giant was renamed Liv.

Result

Liv unveiled the refreshed identity at the Eurobike 2014 trade show, presenting the new brand to bicycle dealers, industry media and the public. Total Women’s Cycling had this to say:

“Giant has long been committed to the female rider, but the launch of its new sister brand Liv, brings that commitment one step further.”

The Liv brand has since experienced robust sales growth in every market, including sales leaping from 5% to 26% of Giant Bicycle’s consolidated US revenues.

Client: Liv – www.liv-cycling.com
General Manager: Bonnie Tu
Global Brand Manager: Nikki Jan
Global Bike Category Manager: Cassandra Chou
Global Apparel Product Manager: MeiTzu Lin

Brand Strategists/Designers: DDG – www.ddg.com.tw

Brand Strategist:
Mark Stocker
Eric Yin
Creative Lead:
Kris Tsao
Feny Hung
Communications Strategist: Ted Pigott
Account Manager: Yvette Chen

Additional Credits:
Photographers: Michael MÙller – www.kmestudios.com

Website Design: Iconum – www.iconum.com