Top of the PLOTTs

The run up to Christmas is often a time of annual round-ups. You have probably already read some, so I won’t do that here. Whether you stay up to date with events by watching, listening or reading you’ll have noticed it’s a sea of negativity. But the “news” is a bad-news aggregator, it’s not all doom. There’s good news too.

All over the world people are less poor, and living longer. This progress continues, but it’s not immediate or exciting, so it rarely gets a mention. In a time of good cheer it’s worth remembering that while the world will always face challenges, there are also reasons to be optimistic. If not outright cheerful.

Meanwhile in the UK we’ve avoided recession. The year began with very low growth, and interest rates have proven sticky. 2024 is going to begin in much the same way, so we’re not into smooth sailing just yet. Come what may one thing remains obvious. Competition for clients will remain fierce. To stay competitive you must prepare. Your brand must stand out to stay relevant, to grab people’s attention, and to keep it.

We love to work with firms who want to take their brands to the next level. Fortune favours the bold, and if there ever was a time to be bold it’s now. Fresh modern identities, curated and cliché-proof imagery, photoshoots, bespoke website development, copywriting, animation, brochures and campaigns … We’ve been busy as North Pole Elves all year. And so, with no further delay, here’s our Top of the PLOTTs for 2023.

Frazer James – Going from good to great

For this full brand update we looked at the identity, colour palette, fonts, copy and tone-of-voice, imagery and the website. We designed a logo and icon set that speaks of professionalism, but suggests a freshness of approach. 

With the new punchy colour palette the result is clean, modern and memorable. Taken as a whole the Frazer James brand is now perfectly balanced – highly professional and safe, but fresh and super stylish.

Sedulo – Standing out from the crowd

We loved that Sedulo Wealth’s values and attitudes aligned with ours. Doing just enough, just isn’t enough. When we create a brand it’s all connected, so we curated a suite of images to represent the strapline. Elsewhere the photos of the team at work exude personality and warmth. A true reflection of this genuine and friendly team. 

The introduction of consumer duty means copywriting must be simple and easily understood. But there’s no reason it can’t be warm, professional and elegant too. We also delivered a top-tier website with baked-in functionality that’s above and beyond what’s typical.

Macbeth – Celebrating 30 years with a rebrand

Macbeth wanted their brand to reflect the company’s evolution over the years and to help them celebrate 30 years in business. Macbeth wanted the new brand to emphasise that they are, first and foremost, a people business. 

We delved into Macbeth’s past, future, people, and service. From there came an identity and brand that’s meaningful, vibrant and modern, while linked to what came before. This is all presented on their new PLOTT website, and introduced in a brand launch video.

Express Van – Express to impress

Simon from Simpex was developing the idea for a sister brand and was given our name. He had spotted an opportunity to develop a brand and website laser focussed on express van-sized consignments. What he needed was a stream of incoming leads, and a professional website to convert them.

Their new logo suggests speed and purpose, and the brand broadcasts their expertise. We used photos with real people doing real things to show that this was a team of people you could trust. We developed a no-nonsense tone for their copy and delivered their website on our own super fast WordPress platform.

The Pipeline – Unlocking women’s potential

Every once in a while a client comes to us with a brand story and purpose that really makes us sit up and listen. And that’s just what we did when Kathryn came to talk to us. Put simply, they work to create and develop diverse and gender-balanced executive teams.

The Pipeline needed a brand with gravitas to help achieve their objectives. Working with their existing identity we set about evolving their brand with colourways, fonts and imagery. We then launched a beautifully modern and high-performance website which features different user journeys for individuals and businesses.

For us it’s been a fulfilling year, full of interesting projects for varied and excellent clients. The last few years have been challenging for many businesses, and next year promises no difference. We know that success relies not only on having a great service and product, but on audience perception of your great service or product. And that’s what your brand needs to be doing. At PLOTT we’ve been helping ambitious businesses develop stand-out brands for eleven years. Join us as we go into our 12th year and get your brand right for 2024.

Merry Christmas, and a happy new year from all of us, to all of you.