A Refresh of the Brand as ‘The Home Experts’.
We were commissioned by Hamptons to help them express their ‘true brand story’ as a modern and more emotionally engaging brand image, to achieve the visibility and differentiation the people within the ‘Hamptons family’ deserve amid a hugely competitive, yet relatively undifferentiated market.
Hampton Estate agents have been established for over 150 years. Part of the Countrywide Group, they have 90 offices across the UK, specialising in domestic and commercial lettings, sales, new homes and international property. Hamptons deliver exceptional service leading to above industry standard conversion rates and excellent client feedback in response the experience they provide. However, research revealed that despite this success, Hamptons were being held back by a brand image that was perceived as somewhat outdated, cold, formal and unapproachable, with competitors working ever harder on the quality of their visual engagement.
Brand Positioning: ‘We’re in it together’
Working closely with the Hamptons Marketing team and the board of directors, we were inspired by the idea of a ‘rooted progressive’ brand positioning, based on Hamptons’ long-standing heritage and expert knowledge combined with fresh thinking and strong ambitions for the future. Based on Hampton’s own research we identified a central idea to embed the and refresh the relevance of the Hamptons proposition and their style of service. This insight was that given property management, moving and buying can be a highly stressful process, the highly personable Hamptons team of experts are unusually well-equipped to act as guides and client champions every step along the way.
This consolidated an essence of the brand that is ‘We’re in it together’: Hamptons exist to ‘Improve people’s lives by helping them make important and life changing decisions about property’. But there was something more: other agents deal in property – the Hamptons team offer support for life; in homes and in communities. The positioning, was articulated as brand story, to explain to all stakeholders the intention for the creative visual expression. This focuses on the warmth and realness of home life as well as presenting Hamptons as a mentor-brand. ‘More than just your local agent, the approachable experts you can trust for advice and guidance’.
Creative Expression & Application
From photography style, property descriptions and floor plans, the look and feel we developed to represent the refreshed brand positioning intends to become a recognisable indicator of Hamptons quality of service.
The new logo and identity elements merge traditional cues such as a serif typeface and the use of a richer dark blue with modern motifs to create a pleasing tension between heritage and future, such as the stencil style applied to the main, bespoke-drawn logotype, as well as the contemporary sans serif font. This is used in the primary lock-up to render the new master strapline ‘The Home Experts’ in an ‘electric coral’ accent, which appears throughout all items to modernise, feminise and distinguish the new look. We additionally created a range of secondary brand devices, including a signature ‘stamp’ in the form of a loose calligraphic ‘h’ that is relaxed and helps deliver a warmer, human feel for the overall identity. The hand-written ‘h’ occurs in a range of scale and weights adding dynamism and depth to a range of assets.
The photography style is inspired by the notion of “home” and “relationships” from what makes a home to the human-centric aspects and the joyful imperfections of domestic life. This is supported by a more personal and approachable tone of voice, with the use of a mixed-typeface and brackets referencing the idea of a ‘dialogue’ for visual brand messaging, creating an engaging & highly modern twist and tone.
We have led the application of the refreshed Hamptons brand and visual assets across print & stationery, promotional material, property boards, in-branch and store front applications and for digital use from the website, app and online ads. We have in parallel created a ‘sister’ visual identity specific to Hamptons’ new bespoke ‘Prime’ service for clients at the top of the market range.
After launch just before a Christmas in this most extraordinary year, when many of us have been more connected with ‘home’ than ever, the effect will give Hamptons additional appeal that reflects the true nature of the great service they have delivered for 150 years, giving the business additional leverage at a very dynamic time for the property market.
