Helping Outdoor
Adventurers Enjoy the Open
Road through Modern Digital
Comforts
Digital Product Strategy
UX/UI
Digital Product Development
Winnebago is one of the largest producers of outdoor recreation vehicles, including boats and travel trailers. Their mission, “Be Great, Outdoors,” has inspired innovation and provided focus on their adventurous customers for over 67 years. As the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts came of age, Winnebago seized the opportunity to elegantly blend useful digital experiences into the physical experience of being on the open road.
Vervint partnered with Winnebago to uncover desired features making adventuring more comfortable, safer, more energy efficient, and even more pet-friendly. The work culminated in the creation of Winnebago’s first major consumer app and launching of the Winnebago Connect platform, setting up the iconic brand to continue digital innovation for generations to come.
Primary Goals
Understand and deliver for the changing customer base
With the average customer trending younger, Winnebago wanted new insights and approaches to connect with a more technologically savvy audience.
Fuse physical tradition with modern conveniences
Uncover, design, and deliver a suite of features that make life on the road more comfortable through thoughtful digital innovations
Reinvent the online research and buying experience
Create and launch a suite of digital tools to better educate and accelerate sales to Winnebago customers
As we entered this journey to do something groundbreaking and game-changing in the RV industry, while we leveraged our internal folks, we looked for a partner to push the boundaries for us.
First understand, then map a new digital road forward
Winnebago wanted to better understand how technology could drive the customer experience and what organizational changes would be necessary to align, adopt, and help these changes stick.
Understanding this new vision started with research. Vervint got on the road, literally, and interviewed Winnebago’s customers along a coastal California road trip to immerse ourselves in the lifestyle and culture.
In parallel, we sat with leadership, management, and dealers to uncover where they saw the future of Winnebago going and what might be in their way of getting there.
For a company accustomed to building physical products, the shift to digital experiences was non-trivial. As we rode, listened, and documented customer frictions, we co-developed recommendations to the internal team structure and operational governance that would support both project-level success and an emerging long-term vision for the organization.
Leveraging technology to disconnect from technology
Traditionally, RVs were built for Baby Boomers and Generation X, and 80–90% of Winnebago consumers were 55 and older. The pandemic changed the customer base, as younger people began to purchase RVs in greater numbers.
With that transition, customer expectations for modern conveniences climbed much higher. It was clear from our research that the next generation buyer wanted more technology fused into the experience, but not for the sake of spending time on screens. In fact, it was the exact opposite. These buyers wanted useful data and tips surfaced, burdensome manual experiences digitized, and in-cabin experiences elevated. They wanted better tech so they could more easily be in and stay in the moment, wherever the road took them.
Results delivered: Driving home a new digital vision
Mobile app and platform:
Vervint delivered and launched the Winnebago Connect app, a deeply thoughtful mobile app and open-road companion featuring solutions to optimize off-grid power, conserve energy through real-time automations, customize lighting pre-sets based on time of day and moods, monitor temperatures for on-board pets, deliver maintenance reminders, connect and share data with customer care representatives, and more. With all of these friction points removed, Winnebago customers can unplug more easily and more often, which is exactly what our research uncovered as to why they bought their RV in the first place.
Educational research site:
Next-generation buyers are often enamored with the concept of being on the open road, but they might not know how many options exist in the world of modern-day RVing. We designed and delivered a new Find My RV experience, greatly increasing searchability and discovery. We drew inspiration from popular travel sites that encourage searches focused on satisfying needs through core features, such as whether a particular model is equipped with solar energy capabilities.
Meeting the next generation where they are:
Research unveiled that a growing portion of future RV owners wanted an all-electric option. Vervint helped Winnebago understand an entirely new audience, their behaviors and motivations, and apply data to a production-ready vehicle, leading to the launch of Winnebago’s eRV program. Winnebago’s new apps, platform, and experiences have received high praise and accolades from team members, industry experts, and customers. With a sound platform-mindset and ability to introduce elegant digital experiences that keep customers in the moment, Winnebago is set up to continue living their mission of helping their customers “Be Great, Outdoors.”
