Avida considers caravan range

Being forced to change its brand name amid a struggling motorhome market is not all bad news according to Max Mayo, sales and marketing manager of Winnebago Australia’s new motorhome brand, Avida. 

Although Mayo admits there will be some initial confusion among buyers, with almost identical Winnebago and Avida motorhomes sold together at dealerships in coming months, there will be some advantages to adopting a new, unique RV name.

This includes eliminating any misconceptions among the general public that Winnebago Australia is associated with Iowa-based Winnebago Industries, which is a separate entity that produces a distinct range of larger-than-life, US-built motorhomes, made famous in various Hollywood movies and American TV shows.

“There are some negative connotations around Winnebago, one of those is that it’s American and it’s big. ‘Gee, I couldn’t drive one of those, they’re huge’,” Mayo said.

“What they don’t realise, the vast majority of people, is most of our (Australian-built) vehicles are car-like and are easy to drive.”

The re-branding also allows parent company Knott Investments, which has been manufacturing motorhomes since 1965, the opportunity to expand production into other RVs and related products, including caravans and park cabins.

“What Avida also does is allow us to extend our product range, not that we’re planning on extending yet, but if we wanted to go into caravans... It just didn’t seem right to have a Winnebago caravan,” he said.

Although admitting last year’s adverse Federal Court decision “had forced us to create a new brand”, Mayo said Winnebago Australia had previously considered introducing a second brand, including during 2005-06 before the Global Financial Crisis hit.

Winnebago hired Sydney branding design specialist, eBrands, to come up with the new name, which will officially replace Winnebago from March 1.

An exhaustive, months-long process included consideration of hundreds of potential names before deciding on Avida.

“The criteria were that we wanted a name that was short, easy to say, and preferably at the head of the alphabet,” he said.

“At the time we were talking about being passionate about the RV industry, and the word avid came up.”

The extra ‘a’ was added to make it “more European sounding” and give it a “three syllable rhyme”.

And like the name of Australia’s largest RV manufacturer, Jayco, Avida has neutral connotations and “means absolutely nothing when you look at it”.

Although new to the RV world, the Avida name has been used in a number of other industries including hospitality, healthcare, music, and computer software. It’s also the title of a quirky 2006 French film about the kidnapping of a plump billionaire’s dog.

As for the new compass logo, Mayo says it refers to a new direction for Winnebago Australia, which has been in operation since 1982.

One spoke, in Avida’s corporate blue, points south to the Southern Hemisphere, while the north-pointing red spoke refers to “where we came from, Winnebago”.

“We wanted to have a symbol that maybe over time, could be used by itself and become recognisable,” he said. “A symbol that could be placed on key rings...”

“The name itself will become hopefully synonymous with motorhomes, that will be the meaning of it.”