Natural Warmth
Low-carbon central heating is a big business opportunity, but to make the most of it, Natural Warmth needed an identity to establish its credibility in the sector.
Background
Natural Warmth is a Darlington-based central heating installation business launched by local businessman Stephen Heslop in September 2008.
The company supplies a wide variety of lower-carbon heating products offering tailored solutions for different homes. The products range from cavity insulation to under-floor heating systems and ground-sourced heat pumps, which use renewable energy stored in the ground by gathered by heat collecting pipes installed underground.
Heslop decided to set up Natural Warmth when increasing numbers of customers for his existing business, a traditional central heating company called RDS, launched in 1999, started asking for lower-carbon central heating products.
‘RDS had simply developed over time,’ he explains. ‘But because Natural Warmth seemed such a timely idea in the light of rising household energy prices and growing environmental concern, I wanted to make sure we took a professional approach from day one to make the most of the potential.’
Problem
Heslop heard about Designing Demand through his local Business Link advisor. He already had a name for the new company and a general business plan. He hoped the programme would help him develop a logo to use on promotional materials and stationery. Heslop joined the Generate service, teaming up with Design Associate Alan Warren.
‘Steve had an idea and had done some preliminary research to assess its viability, but at the outset of our working relationship he had little if any formal strategy,' says Alan Warren.
Response
Heslop and Warren started by analysing the market potential and goals of the business using the Generate Framework tool. This helped Heslop clarify the new business's proposition and objectives and more clearly define his target market.
‘Alan made me sit down and take stock,’ Heslop says. ‘My focus at the time was simply on launching the business as soon as I could, but through our discussions I came to see that having a brand is more than just having a logo. We agreed to go deeper, and I revised upwards the budget I had initially set aside just for stationery.’
Heslop had invested little in design in his other business, so working with Warren involved a steep learning curve. The pair prepared a design brief, and Warren invited design agencies to present credentials. Newcastle-based Element 5.0 was appointed to design the brand identity and produce brand guidelines and a range of marketing materials.
‘My criteria were relatively straight forward,’ Heslop explains. ‘Only one or two of the companies really understood the project. Beyond that it was about enthusiasm and their ability to come up with ideas we'd not come up with ourselves. Element 5.0 was all that, plus I felt I could work with them.’
The design brief pinpointed three key target audiences for the new business: architects designing bespoke private homes, self-builders and small builders likely to be working direct for architects. The brand was developed to meet the expectations, desires and aspirations of all three groups.
Element 5.0 presented three possible design solutions. The one selected was a corporate identity based on the company name, rather than a graphic image. The logo features the word 'warmth' emboldened for emphasis. It is punctuated by a circle signifying the symbol for degrees. This becomes a recurrent icon across all related marketing materials, along with a strapline: 'low carbon heating solutions'.
Impact
Natural Warmth began trading in September 2008. Although it is too early to quantify the brand development and design's impact, projected turnover for the first year is approximately £600,000.
Heslop, who remains in contact with Element 5.0 and now runs ideas for new marketing materials by them as a matter course, is in no doubt about Designing Demand's contribution.
‘We'd have got here without it, but we would not have looked half as professional. The branding makes us look far bigger from the outside than we are, too. And although our immediate focus is on the North East, it provides us with a solid platform for future national expansion,’ he says.
‘Designing Demand has been an invaluable experience. Every new business should go through this process.’
Warren endorses this. ‘At the outset, Steve wanted something relatively straightforward and functional,’ he observes. ‘He now has an identity that really stands out and is being carried across all aspects of the business, including a recently-opened showroom.’
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