Challenge
National Express Group has always been a bit of an innovator: the first transport company to commit to not buying another diesel bus in the UK and one of the first to set a net-zero emissions target for 2040.
But it was facing two problems: first, its corporate brand wasn’t conveying the scale and ambition of its global business – and second, its name was just adding to the confusion. Outside the UK, there was little understanding of what ‘National Express’ meant or stood for, among prospective investors or the Group’s 46,200 employees.
Solution
National Express Group needed a corporate brand that would unite, inspire and act as a positive halo across the entire operating business – a brand that would articulate its ambition to lead the modal shift from cars to passenger transportation and create a brighter, greener future for all.
The first challenge was its name. ‘Mobico’, an abbreviation of ‘mobility company’, was chosen for its powerful ‘mobility’ associations as well as the strong audio pattern of ‘mo-bi-co’, where vowels (o-i-o) accentuate softness and ‘co’ accentuates hardness.
The new brand platform is built around the idea of connections between people and places; Mobico is the enabler, operating at the heart of the communities it serves. The new graphic system introduces simple, abstract shapes – reminiscent of roads and streets – to reflect Mobico’s role in connecting people and places.
Impact
— 20+ press mentions at launch, including in The Independent and The Times.
— Won Bronze at the Transform Europe 2024 Awards: Best visual identity from the transport and logistics sector.
“We asked Conran Design Group to create a new name and brand to powerfully represent our vision for the future, leading the modal shift from cars to passenger transportation. The new brand needed to feel distinct and innovative, and clearly support our ambitions to shape a brighter, greener future for mobility. For a company of our size, we knew that this wasn’t a straightforward ask and would require deep strategic and creative thinking. We’re thrilled with the results.
“Conran Design Group has created a brand that reflects our multi-modal operations and global reach in a differentiated and compelling way – and has given us a name that speaks to our ability to connect people and places. Crucially, they’ve put distance between our corporate and consumer-facing National Express brand.”
Ignacio Garat, CEO, Mobico Group
