MEMA’s New Branding Earns Industry Association Award

Research Triangle Park, N.C.  - MEMA, the Vehicle Suppliers Association, recently introduced a new brand identity and has already received industry accolades. Last month, MEMA received a Trendy Award from Association TRENDS, honoring the best marketing and communication pieces in the association and nonprofit community.

MEMA is the leading trade association in North America for motor vehicle and mobility suppliers, parts manufacturers, and remanufacturers. For nearly 120 years, MEMA has championed and advanced the business interests of vehicle suppliers and the mobility industry.  

“MEMA’s new branding is one part of a larger strategy to realign and position MEMA for the future,” says President and CEO Bill Long. “We see supplier needs and priorities shifting as well as overlapping across industry and sector. That’s why we executed the realignment, and the new brand to better advance the business interests of vehicle suppliers”.

The new logo and supporting brand architecture was announced following a month-long exercise to ensure the new brand aligned with its new business strategy. MEMA converged its four divisions under one umbrella organization with two distinct membership groups: MEMA Aftermarket Suppliers and MEMA Original Equipment Suppliers.

MEMA engaged Gyro Creative, a brand identity studio based in Detroit, Michi, to create the new master brand – MEMA, the Vehicle Suppliers Association – supported by a new look and feel and a new brand promise: Stronger by Association.

“There was so much equity in the MEMA name and brand,” explains MEMA Executive Director of Marketing and Communications Megan Gardner. “Engaging in a strategy that embodies our legacy and refreshes the brand was critical. The MEMA team – including boards and staff – are thrilled with the result, and the recent award validates our efforts.”

Bold in design, the new MEMA brandmark and visual identity reflect the strong, successful organization MEMA has become while presenting a forward-thinking, future-focused brand to the world.

The modern, bold forms, precise vertices, and rounded strokes are reminiscent of roads. Upward angles represent progress and positive movement, while the period or red dot connotes power and strength and nods to the original MEMA brandmark’s circular motif. It represents the idea of one MEMA, comprised of members, and companies from all areas of the vehicle  mobility community, and beyond. The sliced edges of the letters infer “the edge” members possess in innovation, as new technology-specific suppliers join current suppliers and manufacturers in the ever-expanding mobility landscape. By acknowledging the rich history of MEMA and combining it with a vision of what’s next for vehicle suppliers, the new brandmark embodies the strength of this long-standing organization as it looks forward to the future.

MEMA’s key brand color, red, represents excitement, energy, passion, courage, and attention. Blacks and grays express elegance, discipline, and authority. Together, the colors create a palette that is authentic to the association and boldly communicates the brand idea MEMA aims to own in the hearts and minds of its current and prospective members: Strong by Association.

As a brand idea, Strong by Association represents the strength of the individual members and the organization. Together members take on the issues of the day in the industry, find solutions, and take the tougher challenges all the way to Washington to get results. Strong by Association reinforces the MEMA brand with a context easily understood and an emotional pull to rally around.

“Representing vehicle suppliers, we are literally moving the world forward,” says Long. “Our members make and innovate the parts and technologies that drive our industry. MEMA is innovating along with our members, and our new brand reflects our forward momentum.”

To learn more about MEMA and to view the new website, visit https://www.mema.org/about-mema.