Detroit Diesel Redesign 2008

Detroit Diesel Brand Building

Improving Customer Loyalty

In today’s customer-driven economy, it is more important than ever for a company to connect to their client base. In 2008, Detroit Diesel, a heavy-duty engine manufacturer and long-time client of Pop Art, asked us to better foster communication with their customers through a new web presence. The new web site had to be search engine optimized, a launch pad for new products, visually appealing, and intuitive to navigate.

Spreading a Brand Throughout the Site

Pop Art had previously tested a more engaging, less engineering focused brand voice on a small portion of the web site. It coincided with the launch of the new DD15 engine. The new image was one of strength, power and efficiency, and this was expressed through a more casual, narrative and anecdotal voice. After the success of that effort, the client decided to spread that tone throughout their entire site.

Pop Art built the site to be easily upgradeable as new products were launched. The site has served as a key piece of media for the promotion of their new DD13 engine.

Raising EPA 2010 Awareness

Finally, Pop Art had to raise awareness of the upcoming EPA emissions regulations:

  • Highly technical and political issue
  • Necessitated thorough understanding of subject matter
  • Site-wide in-bound promotions
  • Had to maintain voice that was established throughout the rest of the site

Project Summary

  • Complete web site redesign
  • Unified brand image to match narrative style
  • Efficient launch pad for new products

Project Images

  • Our new homepage for Detroit Diesel combines Flash components and SEO-friendly content.
  • We integrated the tone from their recently added DD15 section into the rest of the engine manufacturer's site.
  • With such a wide variety of highly technical products, one of our biggest challenges was turning technical details into an interesting narrative.
  • Since going live, the site has gone on to act as the launch pad for a series of new engines and products.

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Related Blogs

  • On Method Design

    Creative Director Dave Selden discusses how living the Detroit Diesel brand resulted in a better web presence.