McCurley Dealerships - Your Way Home

Fasten your seatbelts. Because this brand's journey with me is long and spans many years, and I'm going to take you through it as quickly as I can. McCurley Dealerships is a staple in the Tri-Cities community, but the region has grown and changed a lot over the last 50 years, and McCurley was primed and ready to change with it. So, when I was tasked with introducing their new brand, tagline, and logo to the public, I had to ensure it would set them up both for their own growth, and their community's.

Working with dealership chain's leadership, I gained a deep understanding of how they're positioned in the market, and where they want to go in the future. These immersive conversations laid the foundation for how we would authentically message their new identity going forward.

This meant that, going forward, McCurley ads would focus on their customer - not the car. This way, we could show that they really understand the importance of the product and service they offer to their audience. Because a car is more than just a car. It's 'Your Way Home.' So, we focused on telling all-too-familiar stories of experiences we've all had in our vehicles.

A visual identity beyond a logo

Their comittment to their community is an integral part of who they are, and showcasing their place in the region was vital. So we included visuals of the Tri-Cities throughout all video ads. While most might use this opportunity to show the region with sweeping aerial shots, the truth is – that’s not how most people recognize their communities. So, to play on the way audiences actually see and experience their hometown, I opted instead to show these landmarks the way they’re seen every day: through the windows of vehicles. This visual cue also ties back to the automotive genre of the ads while most importantly, feeling like a true and familiar drive home.

Uniting the team behind behind the brand

Before the new campaign went live to the public, though, McCurley wanted to unveil the result of all our hard work behind-the-scenes to their employees and get them reved up, excited, and ready for the road ahead. But how do you encapsulate months of discussions, decisions, and rationale to hundreds of people at once, in one easy-to-digest presentation? Cinema.

Renting out 3 screens, McCurley invited all of their employees to a theatrical release of a documentary film I directed and produced detailing the history that led to this moment, the entire rebrand process, the plans for the future of the dealership chain, and the role their team would play in the months and years to come.

Evolving genres while upholding brand integrity

In the years that followed, I wrote and produced dozens and dozens of ads for McCurley reinforcing their newly crafted identity and tone with heartwarming, relatable stories that showcased their understanding of their customers. But, after having established their core message, McCurley was ready to evolve their marketing and take the 'Your Way Home' into more comedic territory.

To ensure a smooth transition that stayed true to their brand, I used the audience's familiarity with McCurley's TV formula over the years, and slowly turned up the funny over the year's ads. Most importantly though, these high concept stories - however exaggerated and bizarre - grabbed attention while maintaining the authentic, relatable, and familiar presence we've worked to build and will continue to in the road ahead.