The Cabin as a Canvas: Why Brand Identity Will Be Defined Inside the Car

At IAA Mobility 2025, much of the buzz was around operating systems, hyper screens, and multisensory interiors. Mercedes unveiled MB.OS in the new GLC. Audi and BMW showcased dashboards that stretch into digital landscapes. Cupra leaned into fragrance, light, and sound as lifestyle cues.

Look past the product demos and the real story emerges: the car is no longer just a cockpit. It is becoming the ultimate canvas for brand storytelling, culture, and emotional connection.

From Hardware to Heartcare

Electrification and autonomy are levelling the field. A 300-mile EV range or Level 3 assisted driving is fast becoming expected. The differentiator will no longer be torque or trim, it will be heartcare.

What makes a Mercedes feel like a Mercedes, a BMW like a BMW, or a Cupra like a Cupra will increasingly come from the cabin experience. The digital environment inside the car is now the first and most lasting impression of brand identity.

The Car as a Cultural Medium

The smartphone became the medium for music, video, and connection. Now the car is emerging as the next cultural screen, not just a utility, but a stage for identity.

When DRIVE PILOT engages and passengers (millions of them) switch from driving to watching, browsing, or creating, the cabin becomes a storytelling space. What they see, hear, and interact with isn’t just content, it’s a brand speaking to them in real time.

This is where loyalty is forged. Not in horsepower specs, but in whether a cabin feels intuitive, inspiring, and alive.

Visibility matters

Think of learnings from streaming platforms and game ecosystems for example, both have shown us that stickiness doesn’t come from individual titles or apps. It comes from discovery, personalization, and immersion.

But if content providers are hidden behind a generic app icon, lost among dozens of others, usage will always lag just as the incentive for content providers to invest. There lies the opportunity as those OEMs that give content partners prominence and discoverability within the cabin will be the ones to transform an app into a user destination, and a content partnership into real engagement.

Equally important is data. With today’s limited analytics in the automotive context, OEMs and content providers are still operating in the dark. Collecting and sharing the right insights will be critical to refining offers, increasing engagement, and creating sustainable partnerships.

The winners of this race won’t just integrate a few apps; they’ll orchestrate ecosystems that feel seamless, personalized, and deeply brand aligned. However, here’s the challenge that needs to be solved and not everyone is able to do so: automakers and content providers are still speaking different languages. OEMs want stability and control. Content providers want reach and agility. Too often, the relationship looks like procurement rather than partnership.

In 2025, that dynamic must change. To turn the cabin into a true cultural canvas, OEMs and media companies need to co-create experiences, not just exchange contracts. That means shaping discovery journeys, designing brand-native UIs, and ensuring content feels like part of the vehicle’s soul.

A New Language of the Brand

The next generation of automotive icons will not be defined solely by exterior design or engine performance. They will be defined by the interior experience — the sensory and digital environment that tells passengers, this is who we are.

For automakers, that’s both a challenge and an invitation. The cabin is no longer a gimmick or an accessory. It is the new language of the brand. Those who master it first will shape not just the future of mobility, but the culture of how we live, move, and connect.

And that conversation is only beginning.

Bridging the Practical Gap

Of course, vision alone won’t solve the industry’s thorniest challenges. One of the toughest is aligning the very different worlds of automakers and media companies. OEMs seek stability, safety, and control; content providers chase agility, reach, and monetization. Too often, what should be a partnership turns into a slow, transactional negotiation process.

If the cabin is to truly become a cultural canvas, this gap has to close. That means rethinking contract models, licensing frameworks, and partnership approaches. The companies that crack this will unlock not just content in cars, but entirely new ways of telling brand stories and building consumer loyalty.

The Road Ahead

At 3SS, we believe the car is becoming the next great platform for content discovery and consumption. But it won’t succeed through piecemeal experiments or clunky integrations. It will take collaboration, a shared vision between automakers and media companies, powered by scalable solutions.

That’s the conversation I want to have with industry leaders as we head into MOVE America, MIPCOM and CES 2026. In-car entertainment is no longer about “if,” it’s about “how.”