Avanza Autos by Jim Burke Ford
The opportunity to partner with Jim Burke Ford on the creation of Avanza Autos was immediately compelling. It brought together two dynamics that rarely align so clearly: a deeply rooted, legacy dealership with longstanding credibility in Kern County, and the chance to build an entirely new brand from the ground up. Jim Burke Ford was looking to expand its presence in the used car market while meaningfully engaging a growing Hispanic community that, historically, had little connection to the Ford brand at a national level. At the same time, the broader category carried real challenges. Many buyers had experienced predatory practices, limited financing pathways, and a lack of transparency when navigating credit. There was both a gap in trust and a clear opportunity to do better.
Where our role became essential was in shaping that opportunity into something real and durable. The client needed a brand that could stand on its own, distinct within a crowded and often indistinguishable market. They also needed to test and validate their assumptions about audience, behavior, and demand, ensuring that the concept was grounded in insight rather than instinct. Just as importantly, they were looking to create an environment that genuinely served the community they hoped to reach (as opposed to simply speaking to it). For us, this project represented a rare intersection of strategy, identity, and lived experience. It required entering a category we had not previously worked in, learning it quickly, and applying our discipline in a way that could reshape how a dealership is perceived and experienced at the local level.
Avanza autos Brand Scope:— Strategy
— Messaging
— Dealership Naming
— Environmental & Interior Design Direction
— Visual Identity Design
— Social Media Design
— Brand Collateral / Merchandise
— Website Design Support
— Brand Guidelines
How It Started
Avanza Autos originated as a strategic idea within the leadership team at Jim Burke Ford, driven by a long-standing interest in creating a used car experience tailored to a specific audience and defined by a distinct identity. The Hay brothers, alongside their leadership team, have spent decades building a quiet but meaningful presence in Kern County. Their involvement spans community events, local initiatives, scholarships, and ongoing support for organizations across the region. It is not a company that seeks recognition for this work. Their approach has consistently been understated, rooted in a belief that impact should be felt rather than announced. That legacy traces back to the earliest days of Jim Burke himself and continues to shape how the organization operates today.
At the same time, translating that history into a new venture required a shift. While their community engagement has been deep and sustained, much of it has remained behind the scenes. Reaching a new audience meant making that commitment more visible and legible without compromising its authenticity. The challenge was not to manufacture a sense of care, but to express what already existed in a way that could be recognized and trusted by those who had not previously been part of their customer base.
Strategy, Messaging and Dealership Naming
The strategic objective was to build a name and identity that carried meaning from the outset. It needed to be intuitive in both English and Spanish, grounded in trust, and reinforced by an aesthetic that signaled clarity and credibility before a customer ever stepped onto the lot. Alongside naming, we developed a messaging approach centered on meeting people where they are. This meant embracing a Spanish-led communication model, one that served as a primary mode of engagement that could open the door to more direct, comfortable interactions. From a strategic standpoint, the project was less about repositioning an existing brand and more about bringing definition to an idea that was still forming. When Jim Burke Ford first approached us, the ambition was there, but it required validation. Through research, market analysis, and audience insights, we were able to confirm both the visibility of the concept and the conditions required for it to succeed.
That process led to several key realizations that shaped the work. We gained a clearer understanding of how today’s used car buyers navigate the market, including the fragmented but highly active digital ecosystems that exist across English-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and bilingual audiences in the U.S. These insights informed a messaging system designed to operate consistently across social platforms, in-person interactions, and community-facing events. The naming process itself was deliberate and iterative. We explored a wide range of options, testing for meaning, phonetic ease, and cultural resonance. The name Avanza, derived from the Spanish verb avanzar, emerged as the strongest expression of the brand’s purpose. It conveys movement, progress, and forward momentum, aligning with the idea that access to a reliable vehicle can create meaningful change in a person’s life. Through a series of focus groups that included students, community members, and internal stakeholders, we tested both naming and messaging directions. These sessions provided critical feedback on perception, tone, and clarity, ultimately helping us develop a brand that felt both authentic and accessible.
Environmental Design
Most dealerships feel sterile, transactional, cold. Avanza was designed to feel the opposite from the moment a customer walks in. The environment carries the Baja California palette from the identity onto the walls, furniture, and signage. Warm terracotta, tangerine, sea breeze, and cactus green move through the space in materials and tones that reference the region rather than describe it. Textures inspired by Talavera tile and woven fiber appear in finishes and detail work. The result is a showroom that feels rooted in place rather than borrowed from a corporate template.
Family-friendly areas accommodate the way these decisions actually get made. Parents, grandparents, and children are all present, all part of the conversation, and the space supports that dynamic. Seating is comfortable enough for the long waits financing can require. Wayfinding is clear without being over-directed. The sales floor encourages unhurried dialogue rather than the commission-first choreography that defines most used-car environments.
The space functions as an operational expression of the brand's core belief. Buying a car should feel empowering. Every choice in the environment supports that belief, from how someone is greeted to how long they're allowed to sit and talk before a sales associate checks in.
The Visual Identity
The identity rejects the visual language of traditional used-car marketing. Flags, stars, screaming fonts, and empty promises signal desperation, and desperation repels the buyer Avanza was built to serve. The system moves in the opposite direction. Quiet confidence, rooted warmth, and regional specificity.
The palette draws from Baja California's natural landscape. Warm terracotta and tangerine anchor the system, with soft sea breeze and cactus green offering balance. These are colors that feel lived-in, familiar, and human.
Typography does heavy positioning work. Santa Ana Extra Bold, the primary headline face, takes its cues from California street signs. The kind of lettering you see on neighborhood corners and local intersections, carrying direction and place. The supporting typefaces draw on Baja California signage traditions, with a slightly western, sun-worn feel that reads as regional without leaning on cliché.
Pattern work references cultural heritage with detailed intention and familiarity. Talavera tile brings craft and specificity into the system. Woven fiber textures add depth and warmth. Together, the patterns function as signals that this place was built with the customer in mind and a welcome change of pace that is completely unique to Avanza.
Brand Collateral
The brand system showed up everywhere a customer could see it or touch it. Signage outside matched the palette and design language inside the showroom. Wayfinding carried the same visual discipline from the parking lot to the finance office. When a sales associate handed a customer a folder, it looked like it belonged to Avanza, not pulled from a dealer supply catalog.
Business cards, financing documents, buyer's guides, staff apparel, and merchandise all followed the same design standards. The brand held together across every interaction. A customer walking through the space saw one continuous experience, not a showroom designed by one team and collateral designed by another.
The physical materials were held to the same standard as the space itself. If the showroom was built to reduce friction and signal respect, the printed pieces needed to do the same work. Every touchpoint reinforced the central belief that built the brand: this buyer deserves better than what the industry typically offers.
Impact
Differentiation creates economic lift because it reduces friction. When buyers feel respected, they relax. When they relax, conversations change. Questions soften. Time on site increases. Family members engage instead of hovering. Confidence replaces defensiveness. Those shifts move commercial outcomes even when they never show up in a campaign dashboard.
Avanza opened at 5301 Gasoline Alley Drive in South Bakersfield with bilingual local coverage across KGET, TurnTo23, and KERO, positioning the launch as a community moment rather than a standard dealership opening. Inside the space, the design intent landed immediately. A thirty-year dealership veteran walked the showroom and said it was the first time in his career he felt something special inside a used-car environment. When a response like that comes from someone who has seen hundreds of these openings, it tells you the strategy held the line from concept to experience.
Client Review
“In my thirty years in this business, this is the first time I've walked into a dealership showroom and felt something, something special.”