Looking for a little branding inspiration? Pull up a seat

6 minute read

Earlier in the year, we ran a blog post on where to start with coming up with a company name. In it, we shed light on a number of research studies that showed just how important a business name can be for a company – affecting everything from ad spend effectiveness to share performance.

Having sold domain names for more than 15 years, we at tsoHost also understand how much a website name can mean to an individual personally, too. For many entrepreneurs and small business owners, that name encompasses everything they’ve strived for in establishing their enterprise.

Of course, business names, or brand names, are just part of the wider branding strategy that companies employ. These strategies encompass everything from logos and design to values, tone of voice and positioning.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at a few companies that have hit the nail right on the head when it comes to all aspects of branding and are reaping the rewards as a result.

Not got a domain yet? Head to our domain name pages before you get stuck into this article.

19 Crimes Wine

The unusual labels on 19 Crimes Wine’s bottles feature images of the convicts and scholars who were shipped from the UK to Australia during the 18th century.

Options in the range include The Banished, which features a sepia photograph of James McNally, who was convicted for desertion and mutinous conduct and shipped to Australia in 1867, and the Hard Chardonnay, which bears the face of Jane Castings who was sentenced to seven years’ transportation for “receiving cheese and bacon knowing the same to have been stolen”.

At the start of summer 2018, the Wine Economist reported on how 19 Crimes Wine had sold more than a million cases.

There’s a long list of ways that 19 Crimes is winning with its branding. First and foremost, the company is harnessing the power of storytelling. See our blog from earlier in the year for a rundown of the power of telling stories.

The storytelling isn’t limited to the label, either. 19 Crimes’ website develops the stories further, plus each cork is printed with the name of a crime – for example ‘stealing roots’ – making each one collectable.

Secondly, the company has been forward-thinking in its approach to customer engagement. It has harnessed augmented reality to create a range of Living Wine Labels. Customers can download an app and once it’s installed, they can point their mobile phones at their wine label and the person in the picture becomes animated and tells their story.

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Lune Croissants

How many bakeries are there in the world? Well, the UK bakery industry is worth more than £3.6 billion alone.

Why are we asking this question?

Because it hits home just how difficult it is to stand out from the crowd as a bakery.

Despite this, the independent Lune Croissanterie in Melbourne was namechecked in the New York Times as selling ‘possibly the best croissants in the world’. Just six and a bit years after the bakery first opened, queues of customers now coil around the block as they wait for their croissants every morning.

Of course, Lune makes a top-notch product. However, this bakery knows how to do branding.

Its website is branded to be unlike any bakery anywhere else in the world. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think you were entering the website of a space programme or a science lab when visiting the Lune site. Its brand colours are black and white, and its logo is a rocket ship. Yes, it’s different, but it’s consistent, so it works.

The website also harnesses video. It’s on its homepage header and at various other points around the site. Research shows that adding video to a landing page can increase conversion rates by 80 per cent.

Bulb

Bulb is a green gas and energy supplier that launched in 2015. In March 2018 Forbes dubbed it ‘the start-up that’s shaking up Britain’s £54bn energy market’ and by 2018 it was already supplying energy to 300,000 homes.

Bulb’s brand name is A-grade stuff. It’s memorable. It hints at its industry without being dull. It’s short. It’s easy to spell. It should be easy to search for using voice commands.

Like 19 Crimes, Bulb is a dab hand at telling stories as part of its branding, too. The company collects much of its energy from independent generators and on its home page, it tells the story of these generators, such as Gail and Miles. The website also gives visitors a fly on the wall insight into the company, revealing stories about its head office team as well as those of its generators.

The Cheese Geek

The Cheese Geek offers a cheese box subscription service. At Christmas 2018 it was featured in The Independent newspaper’s article on ‘20 best food and drink gifts’ and in The Telegraph’s round-up of ‘The best Christmas hampers of 2018’.

What makes this brand stand apart from the rest is first and foremost its tone of voice. It’s cheeky, it’s down to earth, and it’s a little bit, well, geeky.

You’ll find lots of abbreviations in the brand’s copy such as faves, biz and combos. You’ll also find retro turns of phrase like ‘stonkingly good’ and ‘crackerjack’.

Unlike the likes of Lune, The Cheese Geek sticks to the colours you’d expect from a cheese company. The brand colours are yellow, white and black. It’s a subtle and modern scheme, though, with lots of welcoming white space to keep visitors on the site for longer.

Another thing that sets The Cheese Geek apart from others as far as branding is concerned is its use of humour.

For example, one of its cheese box sets is called The Tina, because ‘its pretty much the best’ and another is called The Lionel and its product description begins ‘Hello, is it the cheese you’re looking for?’.

Research shows that humour plays a huge role in effective branding. A study by The Journal of Marketing found that humour in advertising was ‘more likely to enhance recall, evaluation, and purchase intention when the humorous message coincides with ad objectives is well-integrated with those objectives, and is viewed as appropriate for the product category.’

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