OVE REBRAND

The Challenge

OVE was a sub-brand in decline that needed to be repositioned to better reflect its core strength: always-on online auctions, including nights, weekends, and holidays. While Manheim was globally known for in-person auctions, OVE represented a critical additional revenue channel with significant upside if repositioned correctly.

The challenge was to re-market OVE in a way that played to this strength, differentiated it from live auctions, and felt authentic to dealers’ real-world behavior—without relying on visual gimmicks or overcomplicated messaging.

My Role

I stepped into a Creative Director role, leading concept development, visual direction, and campaign articulation. Partnering closely with marketing leadership and copy, I translated business strategy into a simple, scalable creative platform—an effort that ultimately led to my promotion to Art Director.

The Approach

1. Anchored the Concept in Strategy and Dealer Reality: After reviewing the marketing plan, I immediately connected the opportunity to the familiar phrase “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.” We refined this into a campaign concept that reinforced a simple truth: dealers don’t have to wait for live auctions to gain an edge—they can browse, buy, and sell inventory anytime, anywhere.

2. Used Relatable Humor to Build Trust: The messaging leaned into light, human humor—acknowledging that dealers could participate in auctions even from home, yes, even in their pajamas. This relatability made the value proposition feel approachable, believable, and aligned with how dealers actually work.

3. Led with Simplicity Over Spectacle: While other concepts relied on visual noise and exaggerated effects, I intentionally chose restraint. The clarity of the idea allowed the creative to stay clean, confident, and authentic—letting the message do the heavy lifting.

4. Built a Bold but Disciplined Visual System: I introduced a bold green primary color, balanced with clean white space, and a rusty orange accent for CTAs. The result was a modern, confident system that stood out while remaining flexible across touchpoints.

The Outcome

The rebrand successfully repositioned OVE as a relevant, accessible, and valuable digital auction channel. According to an independent brand health study, the campaign delivered very strong reception and engagement at auction and among dealers, with OVE Brand Equity at 71% and Brand Believability at 67%.

Over the course of the year, the campaign contributed to a significant lift in new buyers and helped win back former buyers, resulting in thousands of additional digital transactions. The work transformed OVE from an overlooked sub-brand into a clear, differentiated offering within the Manheim portfolio.

Key Skills Demonstrated

Creative Direction, Brand Repositioning, Campaign Concept Development, Strategic Messaging, Relatable Humor in B2B, Visual System Design, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Business-Driven Creative Leadership