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How do you reposition a brand in a saturated market?
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In a market where e-bike brands are becoming indistinguishable from one another, QWIC faced the challenge of setting itself apart once again. Working alongside the QWIC team, we developed a brand that revolves around style, personality and experience. With a revamped brand strategy, visual identity and campaigns, we are establishing QWIC as a lifestyle brand that demonstrates that an e-bike offers so much more than just a means of getting from A to B.
Refining QWIC's mission, vision, and core values
Target group analysis and personas
Developing a new brand strategy, from manifesto to tone of voice
Creating a recognisable and scalable visual identity
Development of corporate identity and communication tools
Awareness and activation campaigns
Computer-generated imagery
When all competitors look the same
The e-bike market is booming but also saturated. Many brands offer similar products, images and messages. Therefore, QWIC sought a way to stand out from the competition. Following a relaunch, QWIC approached us with a central question: how can we distinguish ourselves in the competitive e-bike market?
Working closely with the QWIC team, we developed a new positioning strategy that appeals to consumers and strengthens the relationship with dealers. We have effectively become part of the QWIC team, working together on campaigns, communication tools, events and activations that further strengthen the brand.
Together, we are developing a brand that goes beyond mobility: QWIC as a lifestyle brand centred on freedom and self-expression.
Challenge
How do we reposition QWIC in a monotonous market in a distinctive, recognisable and future-proof way, enabling the brand to regain trust, grow in sales outlets and secure a permanent place in the top five e-bike brands in the Netherlands?
Solution
A revamped brand strategy and visual identity strikes the right balance between recognisability and innovation. This serves as the foundation for campaigns, communication tools and activations that will help QWIC grow as a refreshing, powerful and recognisable brand.
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About QWIC
QWIC is a Dutch e-bike brand that stands out thanks to its personalisation options, unique designs and reliable performance. Operating in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, QWIC offers electric bikes that not only serve a functional purpose, but also match the cyclist's lifestyle and identity.
Co-creation as our starting point
video: Co-creation as our starting point
QWIC approached us with a clear question: “Can you help us design the optimal customer journey for consumers and dealers?” During our collaboration, two additional questions arose. First, could we also refine their brand? And second, could we align the visual identity with the new brand strategy?
Rather than treating these questions separately, we viewed them as one coherent challenge: re-establishing QWIC's strong market position.
To achieve this, we opted for a co-creation process. Central to this were intensive one-on-one sessions with the QWIC marketing team. Through in-depth discussions, continuous brainstorming and joint decision-making, we quickly established a clear foundation for the brand strategy and gained strong support within QWIC.
A strategic, creative and practical approach
The challenges QWIC presented to us impacted both their marketing strategy and the core of their brand. They needed a strategic, creative and practical approach to build a contemporary, scalable and future-proof foundation. The process involved several logical steps that together formed the basis for a new brand ecosystem:
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1. Brand strategy
‘The desire for freedom and self-expression is in our nature; we want to be able to move freely and show who we are.’ Based on this insight, we developed a brand strategy that positions QWIC not just as a bicycle brand, but as one that offers more than just a means of transport. This strategy has taken shape in the form of a new mission and vision, as well as brand values and personality. This provides a renewed foundation not only for communication, but also for product development and distribution policy.
A QWIC e-bike is an extension of your identity — a bicycle that stands out from the thousands of others on the road. With various personalisation options, such as the colour of the saddle and grips, customers can customise their e-bike to their taste in-store. Building on this, we created a lifestyle brand experience and established links with the fashion world. This fundamentally distinguishes QWIC from the norm.
“A QWIC e-bike is an extension of your identity: a bicycle that stands out from the thousands of others on the road.”
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2. Visual identity
Based on the new brand strategy, our ambition was not only to develop a recognisable visual language, but also to give QWIC a clearer brand compass that would connect the technical quality of the product more strongly to emotion and experience. During our brainstorming sessions with QWIC, we realised that they operate more as a lifestyle brand than a traditional bicycle manufacturer. This led us to approach the visual identity from the perspective of a clothing brand: stylish, distinctive, and focused on the customer experience.
Based on these insights, we developed a brand strategy comprising five key elements: the logo, colour scheme, typography, visual language and design language. We made only minimal changes to the logo because recognisability is essential for brand continuity. The innovation lies in the unique design language and colour scheme, which provide strong, flexible foundations for all communications. The result is a visual style that is both distinctive and future-proof, and that aligns perfectly with the brand's ambition.
Dealers' initial reactions confirm the success of these choices: they immediately recognise the new style and associate it with QWIC's brand values. This familiarity also appears to be an important factor in recruiting new dealers — a crucial step in increasing the number of physical points of sale. At the same time, a consistent visual identity helps to build brand recognition, resulting in stronger, more coherent customer experiences.
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3. Application in assets & campaigns
We guided QWIC through the process of implementing their new visual identity. What began as a visual revamp evolved into a broader brand movement. The QWIC products now look good, and the product photography, packaging and communication tools have a contemporary and consistent look. We also developed awareness and activation campaigns and revitalised dealer communication, always bearing in mind brand perception and consistency.
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Dealershow
With this vision in mind, we look beyond established frameworks. Take the dealer show, for example, which was not a traditional product presentation but an experience. We deliberately chose a real-life show format complete with live music, a catwalk and other fashion-world references to bring QWIC's brand style to life.
In this way, we delivered the requested assets and helped QWIC build a coherent brand ecosystem that provides direction, inspiration and a foundation for the future.
The result: a stronger brand
The collaboration yielded much more than just an updated corporate identity for QWIC. Recognising that a strong brand must be distinctive in both visual and content terms, we worked together to develop a clear, forward-looking brand story. This story aligns perfectly with QWIC's ambition to become one of the top five bicycle brands in the Netherlands. By positioning the brand as one that brings together design, experience and innovation, QWIC has gained a distinctive place in a saturated market.
We recognised that consistency plays a key role in building brand trust. This is why the new identity formed the basis for clear communication with both consumers and dealers. Consumers now recognise QWIC as a fresh, contemporary brand, while dealers appreciate the support provided by clear, professional and reliable campaigns and materials.
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“What I particularly appreciate about our collaboration with iO is that, from day one, we felt like one team with a shared ambition. Together, we have strengthened the QWIC brand, giving it a clear direction and recognisable style. We are continuing to build on this success together, step by step.”
Carolin Wenk, Brand Lead QWIC
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From project to partnership
Our collaboration has evolved into a strategic partnership, founded on a shared vision for the future of the brand. The new brand strategy and visual identity therefore mark not the end point, but rather the beginning of a new chapter in our joint journey. Going forward, we will continue to work together on campaigns, dealer communications, and brand activations that will further bring QWIC's brand promise to life.
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Partnership for the future
As we remain closely involved with QWIC, we are constantly thinking about how the brand can develop further, from product design to campaigns and communication tools. What began as a strategic foundation has evolved into a close partnership, where we collaborate to identify opportunities, explore new ideas, and bring the brand promise to life.
This means that we are not only a directional partner, but also a long-term supporter of QWIC in terms of activation and communication. Together, we continue to build a brand that keeps moving — just like the bicycles themselves.
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