Yamaha serves a consortium of powersports enthusiasts, from water to road. Beyond motorsports offerings, the brand has also built a business of powertools, from snowblowers to pressure washers, for everyday home-owners.

Communicating its rich array of products to many personas is a challenge that Yamaha faces as it builds its portfolio. So it’s turned to The Turn Lab to address the need for a more personalized UX design and content strategy, selecting the agency following a two-month competitive RFP that involved five agencies, according to Howard Chang, the shop’s co-founder.

“We were highly impressed with The Turn Lab’s deep experience developing enterprise-level web and ecommerce solutions,” said John Delanty, manager digital marketing at Yamaha Motor Canada in a press release, referring to online platforms the agency has created for Honda Canada, Callaway Golf, Golf Town, WWF and others.

Delanty added that the brand was specifically looking for a shop with insights that would help Yamaha determine which research-driven customer personas to target and develop a comprehensive journey mapping to better target those different users.

Since relaunching his agency as the Turn Lab a year ago this July, Howard says the Toronto-based startup has, in addition to marketing services, focused on building its research, consulting and tech offerings. He explains that, for Yamaha, the agency will begin the process by collaborating with the brand’s divisions through a series of workshops, interviews and surveys. The Turn Lab will also design “milestones for all key stakeholders to have input into the project.”

Personalising web visitors’ experience (via persona journey mapping, UX design, content strategy and implementation of AI) is the primary component for the assignment, while ecommerce is secondary, adds Howard.

The first phase of the new website will roll out in early 2020, with ongoing additions to be made over the multi-year web design and development project.

Image: Following The Turn Lab being selected for the project, Yamaha delivered its motorbike to be display in its Toronto office.