Bridgestone is one of the largest mobility providers in the world. While perhaps better known for quality tires, their portfolio includes an array of services from business fleet solutions, telematics, and car maintenance. Mobox, a car maintenance subscription, is one such service that provides repair and replacement for tires. It was launched to make car care easier for customers. 

While customers welcomed it with enthusiasm, many would invariably cancel their subscription after 24 months — once they purchased new tires — and retention was low. In addition, the only way for a customer to sign up for the service was to do it physically at an authorized dealer. 

In an experience-driven economy, Bridgestone knew they had to offer more. They had a unique opportunity to expand their offerings beyond their core service and build a shared vision among internal stakeholders by reimagining the value proposition of the Mobox offering.

We partnered with Bridgestone to uncover the underlying motivations of their target group. The goal was to identify the subscription model’s features that appealed to their customers most and reposition it. Additionally, it presented an opportunity to make the physical-only customer journey digital. 

To uncover the underlying consumer attitudes and motivations, we applied the Value Index Quant Study methodology designed to prioritize what people value most and associate demographic segments with them. Two concepts were tested with 1026 participants in 5 markets. The findings indicated that reducing anxiety, simplification and integration were the core motivators. 

Following this, we designed and presented, The Online Configurator, a digital solution to a real-world problem. It meets functional and emotional needs by recommending various options that build on one another for consumers to choose from. The opportunity to personalize begins with the type of car they own and any modifications that have been made to it and extend to the frequency and availability of add-on maintenance choices. Consumers no longer make choices on tires and service options. Instead, they choose the different ways they can reduce the anxiety that comes with car care. Plus, they could subscribe to the service from anywhere, and at any time.

The Value Index Quant study tested the adcepts various criteria and found that: 

• For overall appeal, 78% of respondents said they like it very much or like it somewhat. 
• On relatability, 75% of respondents rated it extremely relatable or very relatable.
• On driving purchase intent, 64% of respondents rated it extremely likely or very likely.
• 73% of respondents were more likely to purchase a car maintenance service as a subscription.
• Over 50% would expect to pay over £25 a month for the service, and over 20% would pay over £50 (compared to a baseline of £7).

This data clearly states that their customers’ primary motivators are anxiety, simplification and integration; making ‘peace-of-mind motoring’ the right statement to engage them and drive purchase intent.