Blacklane Rebrands and Humanizes the Chauffeur Industry

Shift Showcases Personalities, Soft Skills and Expertise that Elevate Chauffeur Service

BERLIN – 6 June 2019 – Blacklane, the company that reinvented the chauffeur industry, has now rebranded it. Its new brand identity shows how to upgrade your travels through:

• A premium worldwide chauffeur experience. Blacklane will highlight the craft of driving and people skills that separate chauffeurs from drivers. The company’s new imagery, advertisements and messaging promote actual chauffeur partners from around the world.

• Concierges in more than 500 airports around the world. Blacklane was first to link global chauffeur, airport concierge and airport lounge services, giving travelers a seamless experience between their front door and the airplane gate, and vice versa.

“A chauffeur inspires confidence in every personal interaction and maneuver of the vehicle. We infuse that premium experience into our entire brand and in every traveler’s encounter with us,” said Jens Wohltorf, CEO and co-founder of Blacklane. “Chauffeurs, airport concierges and everyone behind the scenes go the extra mile, literally and figuratively, to anticipate guests’ needs and perform service with precision.”

From Redefining to Refocusing the Industry

Blacklane created a new, global and customer-friendly way to book rides with tens of thousands of chauffeurs. This halved the cost of legacy limo rides while increasing local chauffeurs’ revenues. Blacklane standardized the traveler experience across more than 300 cities and eliminated burdensome industry fees.

In 2017, it was the first ride service to offset all rides’ carbon emissions worldwide. Most recently, Blacklane applied its chauffeur expertise to global airport concierge services, taking away stress between the curb and airline gate.

“The industry needs a makeover,” said Wohltorf. “Legacy companies typically advertise impersonal and stiff chauffeurs – the exact opposite of who they are. We are proud to feature our chauffeur partners’ authentic personalities, service mindset and local expertise.”

Blacklane’s new identity is designed to build a global brand and re-define the entire chauffeur industry. The two-phase rebrand is based on Blacklane’s vision to “provide peace of mind as you move through a fast-paced world.”

The first phase starts today with a new website, apps, app icons, logo, tagline and color scheme. Black-and-white photography and video emphasize the premium vehicles and top quality behind chauffeur and airport concierge services. The new vibrant rose-orange gradient represents a seamless and smooth journey while visually separating Blacklane from other ride services. The tag line “Upgrade your travels” replaces “Your professional driver” to broaden Blacklane’s scope and emphasize the benefit Blacklane brings rather than the services it offers.

The new guest app icon is a black square with the bottom half right triangle slightly lighter. This simulates a reflection on a black luxury vehicle and recalls chauffeurs’ black suits. The icon’s simplicity makes it recognizable and consistent with the guests’ physical experience. The accompanying advertising campaign distinguishes between drivers and chauffeurs and runs online for a few weeks.

In August, the second phase of the campaign will extend beyond Blacklane chauffeur quality to the chauffeurs’ and airport concierges’ personalities and soft skills. Blacklane’s partners from around the world will highlight their expertise that puts travelers at ease between their front doors and airplane gates and vice versa.

For example, chauffeurs will explain what five-star service means to them before, during and after rides. They will share the finer points of preparing a pristine vehicle and driving with finesse. And they will show their innate desire to go the extra mile.

Blacklane’s rebrand and the associated campaigns came from its internal creative team and external advertising and photography experts.

Later campaigns will show Blacklane’s internal crew across all of its teams. This ongoing approach will highlight how customer service, product, engineering, marketing and more give guests a high-quality experience at every Blacklane touchpoint.

“There’s no better way to show the guest experience than with the actual global crew who provides it on the ground around the world. Our new brand identity uplifts our communication to evoke the peace of mind that follows from our premium service. We have fine-tuned this over seven years, and now is the time to showcase it,” said Norbert Richard Meinike, Blacklane’s director of marketing. “We are infusing the premium experience throughout all guest touchpoints across digital and physical services, marketing messages and guest communications.”

Blacklane will first promote campaigns on digital channels. The company will target modern business travelers and corporate travel managers on social channels. The second phase will extend beyond online channels to selected offline channels, diversifying and expanding visibility.

Blacklane’s top-quality service is defined by:

• Commercially licensed and insured English-speaking chauffeurs and airport concierges.

• All-inclusive rates guaranteed at the time of booking.

• Chauffeurs and airport concierges who track flights, provide in-airport meet-and-greet service and assist with luggage. For all arriving flights, chauffeurs wait up to one hour for free.

• Business-class and first-class vehicles from automakers including Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW and Cadillac.

• Full duty of care.

• Instant booking confirmations.

• 24/7 multi-lingual customer service.

• Carbon-neutral rides, either in emissions-free vehicles or through Blacklane’s carbon offset program.

About Blacklane (blacklane.com) Upgrade your travels with Blacklane. We bring peace of mind to the most stressful part of travel: between the front door and airplane gate. Chauffeurs and airport concierges ensure guest safety, efficiency, and comfort across more than 500 airports, 300 cities, and 60 countries. Book your Blacklane service at all-inclusive rates on our website or mobile apps or via distribution and channel partners.