PreZero: rebranding the fleet as well as materials

Project	Rebranding fleet and materials
Scope	Project management and signing
Challenge	The rebranding of a large fleet and stickering of 216,000 containers

We have worked with waste processing plant PreZero for quite a few years now. We began collaborating when BFI/Watco became Sita, which involved a complete brand identity overhaul, for which we rebranded the company’s entire fleet and all its materials. In 2016, we served the company again when it became SUEZ and required more rebranding. During the most recent rebranding campaign, when the company changed its name to PreZero, the 918-vehicle fleet and no fewer than 216,000 skips were given a new brand identity. This was quite the puzzle, in terms of logistics, but we managed to get it done, naturally without interrupting PreZero’s primary business processes.

Rebranding a fleet of diverse vehicles

PreZero’s fleet is diverse, and consists of 918 vehicles distributed across more than thirty locations all over the Netherlands. What made this rebranding campaign complex was not just the diversity of the vehicles that make up the fleet, but the availability of the vehicles. Maybe you’ve never realised, but the collection of waste in the Netherlands is a finely tuned machine, and the temporary removal of a vehicle from its duties might mess up the process.

The goal formulated by PreZero and RGN was to rebrand 1,000 objects and the associated materials in six months’ time. In consultation with PreZero, we came up with some practical solutions, e.g. by having vehicles wrapped in stickers only at the end of the afternoon and in the evening. Doing things this way allowed drivers to get in their familiar vehicles right the next day, although the vehicles did look a little different on the outside!

The access routes near all the locations were cleverly managed as well, thus allowing the work to be done efficiently. Due to the tight deadline and the size of the company’s fleet, we had vehicles rebranded at several locations at the same time.

216,000 skips rebranded at 100,000 locations

When SUEZ changed its name to PreZero, we gave 216,000 skips a new brand identity. This gargantuan operation took place between March and October 2022. It was a tremendous amount of work, because not only was the number of skips enormous, but they were also located in 100,000 different locations. The stickers were affixed to the skips outdoors, meaning that we had to take temperature and weather conditions into account when scheduling the work. We’re not afraid of a bit of bad weather, but it’s very hard – and sometimes impossible – to apply foil stickers to skips when it’s windy and rainy outside. And if it’s too cold outside, the glue won’t stick to the skip.

Special puzzle

Thanks to clever project management and our installation team’s flexibility, we were able to successfully complete the rebranding project. What made this project so complicated was the fact that we had to send the team all over the Netherlands in an efficient and effective manner. In other words, we wanted them to do as much work as possible while driving as few miles as possible. Because we made proper arrangements with PreZero’s clients, we were able to complete this project very successfully!

PreZero in the brand identity talks podcast

Get an inside look at PreZero’s rebranding journey with Anthonita van Egmond (Manager Marketing/Communicatie & Public Affairs PreZero) and Tom Dijk (managing partner RGN) in our podcast episode. Discover why PreZero chose to rebrand, the challenges they faces, what they learned, and how the collaboration with RGN unfolded.

The large-scale implementation of a brand identity often involves rebranding a fleet of business vehicles. RGN manages the fleets of organisations such as Antea, BMN Bouwmaterialen, the Amsterdam municipal government, Kuehne+Nael, Thuisbezorgd and Vitens. If you’d like to learn more about this subject, please contact Tom Dijk. His contact information can be found at the bottom of this page.