Summary:
Trying to book oversized freight can be complicated. There are permits, escorts and lots of other details that need to be accounted for, and once you've made that quote, there may not be any carriers who will take it. In order to make it easier we worked with ZMac to build a first-of-its-kind freight brokerage app. It’s the easier, smarter way to quote and book LTL and over-sized freight. Myself and team not only worked on the app, but we were responsible for marketing it via print, digital and in-person tactics.
The Ask:
Reevaluate the UX and UI of an existing app and add new features to it so it can be white labeled and sold to other brokers or shippers. Then create marketing efforts to connect to those audiences.
My Role:
I created the initial approach to the brand and then oversaw the design of the app and it’s marketing efforts. I worked closely with a mix of writers, designers, and developers to make sure the app we were building was going to function the way it was intended, and all the marketing properly conveyed what a game changing platform it is.
The App
The app was initially built as a quoting generating tool for the brokers at ZMac. They wanted to expand their business by white labeling it to sell to other brokers and shippers. My team was asked to elevate the UX and UI so it would be more intuitive to use and have a premium feel that matched the technological effort that was happening on the backend. Part of that effort was adding in new features that would match quotes to real drivers and send them offers to take those quotes. It was built on the Mendix, low-code platform and was a collaboration between myself and designer Sara Bang.
Promotional Landing Page
Evolving the app was just half the project. We were also contracted to promote it. We created a landing page to give an overview of how it worked and encouraged people to reach out for a demo. All other marketing work (paid media, social, emails) drove back to this site as the spine of our marketing efforts.
Video
To explain the core features of the app we created two animated videos. The first focused the Rate Calculator that generates the quote, and the second on ZMatch which will match the quotes to available carriers that fit the user's preferences.
Event Marketing
As helpful as those videos are, one of the best ways to get to know the product is via a live demo. ConExpo is the largest construction expo in North America. It spreads over 232,000 square meters in Las Vegas. With 2,800 exhibitors expected to be in attendance, we designed a place where weary attendees could relax by kicking back and enjoying a beverage at the ZMac Lounge. While there, a Zmac rep could demo the app for them.
Since ZMac is a freight broker, there was also an opportunity to pick up some business by running quotes for people looking to ship things in and out of the show. We sent a series of materials to attendees before the show and created on sight advertising at the Expo to push people to use ZMac to get their freight in and out of Vegas and stop by the lounge.
