Benfield Motor Group has unveiled a new brand positioning which coincides with its biggest ever TV and marketing campaign.

The north-east motor retailer has adopted the tagline "Enjoy The Journey" and will first show this in adverts on regional TV today.

Mark Squires, chief executive, said, "Our new brand identity and campaign clearly demonstrates that Benfield is different from other car dealers, that we understand our customers and are putting them at the centre of our business.

"A unique training and cultural development programme which has incorporated staff training in core service skills and a comprehensive set of customer service standards across the business has been underway for the past twelve months to ensure Benfield is delivering the best for its customers.

"We already enjoy a strong reputation for customer service excellence and have a strong portfolio of world class brands. We now feel it is time to develop our brand identity to grow our customer following further and improve loyalty and retention.

"Our aim is to be regarded as a truly 'World Class Retailer' and today is very important and significant step along that journey." he added.

The 'Enjoy the Journey' brand specific marketing campaign is believed to be a motor industry first and is designed to evoke the lifestyle pleasures experienced and associated with the ownership of a car.

The new identity and campaign has been devised and developed by Newcastle based agency DiFFERENT.

Yousaf Khalid, managing director of DiFFERENT, said "The inconsistent customer service delivered by a lot of the motor retailers sector is well known. What makes this campaign really exciting is that for the first time Benfield is tackling the problem head on and in doing so, moving beyond being a motor dealer to being a retail brand like for example John Lewis and with the same level of customer experience expectations.

"The campaign idea is all about relationships – the relationship between the customer and their car and the relationship between the customer and Benfield."

The new customer service standards that Benfield will be offering motorists include key proof points which Benfield believes really set it apart from what other dealers offer and demonstrate it is fully responding to customer wishes.

These include a 30 day exchange on all used vehicles; a lifestyle test drive where buyers can take the car away, try it out to see how it fits with their lives; an aftercare service with little extras which are not charged for, like free oil and screen wash top ups and vehicle health checks.

To demonstrate the customer-centric approach the launch TV advert will also feature a social media element to the campaign using #enjoythejourney on twitter so that customers can provide their instant feedback and engage with Benfield directly.

Benfield is a family owned business and has 30 dealerships throughout the North East of England, Teesside, Yorkshire, Cumbria and West of Scotland.

Benfield represent brands including Nissan, Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford, Alfa Romeo, Renault, Honda, Lexus Hyundai, Kia and Skoda.