CASE STUDY: Building an Australia-wide hardware brand in six months

AIM

Woolworths' joint venture with US-based Lowes Companies (one of the world's largest home improvement retailers), needed to develop a new retail concept for the Australia market. The brand would need to quickly establish itself and target Australian trade and retail customers with a range of over 35,000 home improvement products, from lighting to paint, flooring to storage, and bathrooms to hardware, sourced from around the world.

Sydney-based Hulsbosch – Communication by Design was first briefed on the naming and identity project in December 2009. Hulsbosch then had four months to create a new national brand that that was timeless, memorable and instantly recognisable to both male and female shoppers of all ages and all cultural backgrounds.

EXECUTION

The name 'Masters' came from a simple thought the Hulsbosch team had during a planning session, “If you want to build or renovate your home or business, who do you trust to do the job? The master builder, the master painter, the master craftsman.”

Woolworths immediately recognised the value of the name, as one that  stands for excellence, skill, professionalism, trust, guidance and being an artist. It empowers customers and gives staff a clearly defined goal - to be masters of customer service.

The visual identity was inspired by the turning thread of a drill bit, the forward motion symbolising the search for a better future. Three identical shapes gave the brand a dynamic look that worked at all sizes and on all consumer touch-points.

Dark blue – the tradesman’s colour – was chosen to represent the brand with a tertiary colour palette developed to complement and support the blue whenever extra colour was needed.

Well before the name and identity was introduced to the market in May 2011, Hulsbosch was charged with designing or overseeing all brand applications, including the look and feel of the stores.

The agency saw an opportunity to evolve Woolworths positioning strategy of “better quality, better service, better price” by empowering customers with information on how to select and use specific products.

The strategy crystallised after managing and creative director, Hans Hulsbosch travelled to the US to experience hardware shopping for himself at Lowe’s.

“They wa they communicate with their customers in-store is so well done, so informative, it goes beyond anything that we have seen in Australia and it provided real insights into how we could position Masters in Australia,” he said.

Hulsbosch went on to design and implement an educational signage system around three communication themes: inspiration, information and functionality.

To develop the system, the project team worked with dozens of client vendors, breaking each product category down into simple “how to” tips. Hulsbosch also developed a colour strategy as a way of classifying products by task, type and quality with colour blocking used at product level to group like-for-like products.

“We want to give people the confidence to achieve the highest standard possible in their do-it-yourself projects and to show how, with Masters expert knowledge, the project or purchase decision is as easy as 1-2-3,” adds Hulsbosch.

RESULTS

The branding company worked in close collaboration with Leffler Simes Architects on the look of the look and feel of the stores, which are designed to be bright, airy, comfortable and spacious with high ceilings and wide aisles.

There are defined areas for both trade and retail customers in the first 13,500 square-metre store in which opened in the Melbourne suburb of Braybrook on 2 September this year.

From the front of store sign, which sees the identity brought to life with a 3D treatment to the way-finding, car park signage, high-level in-store corporate banners, in-bay signage and self-service checkouts, there is a consistency of message articulated through a distinctive visual language.

In all, Hulsbosch designed and implemented more than 2,800 internal signs, as well as all other brand iterations, including the truck livery, merchandise, staff uniforms, credit cards, name tags and brochure work (the project is ongoing).

“The new stores provide customers with an entirely new shopping experience. It is not just about offering products on shelves, it’s about helping customers design and manage their future lifestyle,” says Hans.

“It has been an extremely satisfying project; one that has been able to reach its full potential because the clients understand what the outcome needs to be and are, in themselves, brilliant creative thinkers.”