Natbuild – The Next Step In Our Journey
13/09/2023
“We thought it was time to be a bit louder about it, and about our story, letting our members and their customers know that their store is backed by a much larger entity.”
There are as many reasons to rebrand as there are businesses. For some it’s a new direction, others, to signify a new era, even boredom can play its part and a desire to shake things up, but for Natbuild, the time and need for an update was about projecting an image of strength and stability for our members.
“In the past we had always been the quiet partner of our member’s businesses,” says Peter Way, CEO, Natbuild. “We thought it was time to be a bit louder about it, and about our story, letting our members and their customers know that their store is backed by a much larger entity.”
A quick walk around our new website says it all. Strength, solidarity and stability is projected through a refined wordmark and via type, layout and colour. It’s bold without being confrontational, authoritative without being intimidating and in a nutshell, that is what good branding does; identifies your personality quickly and efficiently, and within those crucial seconds we assess all the things we value in the brands and businesses we love and trust.
For Natbuild, because our business is largely behind the scenes, making sure our message is clear was essential. The website should better explain our services and it should be consistent, just as our communications and message should be – whether on social media or when presenting to clients and customers.
“We wanted a stronger and less complicated brand that would honour our story, our history and help us stand out from our competitors,” says Peter, “ and we have started to notice our member’s customers have heard of us. Gradually we’re encountering a greater awareness and understanding of Natbuild, of what we do, and that makes how we communicate so much easier.”
“We want as many people as possible to know who Natbuild is and what we have to offer the industry."
From here it’s all about maintaining brand consistency. The brand and communications strategy are doing their job; driving home Natbuild’s core philosophies and strengths. With consistency, we make sure our message is clear and coherent and awareness and familiarity grows.
“We want as many people as possible to know who Natbuild is and what we have to offer the industry. Clearly, our goal is to attract key players, independent operators and suppliers alike, where we can add value by delivering on key measurable outcomes for all,” says Peter.
The choice to own the colour red as Natbuild’s primary visual marker has been a point of conversation at times since the refreshed brand was launched, a bold move for a company, who at times, have chosen to remain more reserved. This decision was made after extensive market research determined that the direct competition own their brand colour and own it with strength, they’re very recognisable. Natbuild wanted to ensure its brand was given the same chance to thrive and own its own position in the market. So, came the decision to own red as Natbuild’s brand colour.
It begins with knowing who you are, but a business only works when others know who you are. Successful branding – or in this case rebranding – can be many things, for us it was a complete overhaul, but being able to reference activity and success against a standard made a difference. Working with branding agency Dugan & O’Sullivan, we were able to retain a reference outside of everyday experience and keep our message in line with our agreed objectives and message.
