UPDATING YOUR BRAND


and letting business they wanted to know what the public and their customers thought of them. The results were not all comfortable reading. A lot of people said they were familiar with the name, but thought it was a legal firm. Said Robin Bryant, Managing Director


of Mobas, said, “We went out on the street and asked questions. We set up mock meetings at properties for sale. We made anonymous cold calls to the branches. There were many positives, but there was negativity too. Then we presented our findings back to the board. Some of the


‘We began with the logo. We prefer to deal with local companies


whom we know and trust. The local element kept costs down.’ delyth davies clee tompkinson francis


MAKEOVER MAGIC CARTER JONAS MARYLEBONE


directors nearly fell off their chairs.” Internal retraining began immediately, while Mobas set about repositioning the brand name. “We marketed them as the experts on your doorstep,” says Bryant. “During the recession they had toned down marketing to save costs, but now they needed to get their voice out there, banging the drum. We launched a big PR push, which was phase one. We then produced templates for their brochures which we gave them to use. We trained them with the software, it was incredibly cost effective.” Subtle changes in colour strengths and


fonts updated the signage and stationery and reinforced the brand, along with using local landmarks in advertising. In all, the cost was between £60-70,000. Has it worked? TuckerGardner MD John


Adamson says it has. The sum of the value of the properties registered with them in September, just weeks after rebranding, was almost £100M. It was the highest figure they have had.


‘The statistics clearly show that the decision to re-brand made


good business sense, and we feel our brand visibility has increased hugely.’ sue Gidney swindon home finders


“It was worth it, without a shadow of a


doubt,” he says. “We did the complete belt and braces review, and the filming of the public brought some pretty candid reaction. We use that filming in staff training. But it only really works if you take on board what people are saying about trust and respect. “Too many agents just plough the same


furrow. You have to take a step back every now and then and challenge mindsets.”


Brand unification With twelve offices from coastal Pembrokeshire to rural Brecon Beacons to the city of Swansea, Clee Tompkinson Francis represent very different types of property. However, they wanted to present a unified company image and so began a rebranding process which is ongoing. “We began with the logo,” says partner


Before


The classic look was becoming a bit of a historic look; once upon a time, it seems, almost all agencies were blue and this one certainly didn’t stand out from the crowd.


CHESTERTON TOWER BRIDGE After


After a relatively mild makeover, Carter Jonas now looks colourful, confident and inviting, but it retains a restrained classical elegance that fits their market and the location.


Delyth Davies, “and had that professionally done by local guys. We prefer to deal with local companies whom we know and trust. From there it spread to the stationery, sale boards and even the trailer wagon we take to farm shows.” The local element kept costs down and


the financial load was spread by concentrating on one branch at a time. It is difficult to quantify how much


difference it has made, says Delyth Davies, especially as they began the rebranding in a declining market. “Regardless, we have to keep apace with


the modern lifestyle,” she says. “Besides, when you are too busy you don’t have time to refresh the brand.” For Peter Illingworth, who runs the


Before


Yes, another blue estate agency with properties obliterating the view of the interior which is now seen as a really good way of putting people off coming inside the branch.


18 NOVEMBER 2010 PROPERTYdrum After


The clean clear lines and low rise displays make for a contemporary and friendly atmosphere. There’s no hiding from clients in this new layout – and why ever would you want to?


eponymous three-branch estate agency in North Yorkshire, rebranding was an essential tidying up exercise. At one point, he had three businesses each with a slightly different trading name. He’d opened each with different partners. “It was all a bit messy,” he admits. “Now,


with one name, I can run one local paper advertisement for the three offices. We brought in Innovative Graphics who are based in Hull. They did the whole


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