Dobbies Garden Centres
Bringing the joy of garden living to the nation.
Founded by James Dobbie in Scotland in 1865 and with stores nationwide, Dobbies is a garden retail giant bringing a love of garden living to thousands of customers and fans.
Sector
Consumer
What we did
Discovery & Definition
- Audits
- Consultation
- Brand architecture
- Naming
Design Development
- Creative concepts
- Brand identity system
- Brand engagement
- Messaging and tone of voice
- Brand expression
- Art direction
- Signage and wayfinding
Delivery
- Brand guidelines
- Brand toolkits
- Brand activation
- Motion design and video
Context
Working with brand strategy superstars Circus, Dobbies had established a bold new brand proposition to galvanise its audiences, from loyal customers to nearly 1000 dedicated staff around the UK. The retailer’s ambition was to embed a joy for garden living within every facet of the business, sharing a passion and expertise for gardens and plants. Our task? To translate this revived purpose into a joyous transformation of the Dobbies visual and verbal identity across every touchpoint, in store and on screen, using consumer insights and sharp strategy to influence meaningful change.
Solution
Retaining and refining the retailer’s most recognisable brand asset – the Dobbies iconic flower marque – we transformed its petal shapes into a flexible graphic language. This gave us an overarching brand system to house any piece of communication, from the smallest shelf label to the largest supergraphic. A lively new approach to creative copy and tone of voice, a new colour palette inspired by the natural world, seasonal sub-palettes and an emboldened approach to imagery formed part of an extensive new visual brand language.
Impact
Using our extensive new brand guidelines as a springboard, we applied the new Dobbies brand identity across every significant touchpoint, from in-store point-of-sale, signage and wayfinding to packaging, iconography and digital marketing. Brand extensions included the delicious Dobbies Foodhall, Coffee Shop and members Club Plus brand.
Dobbies is a brand with 160 years of history, and a large and loyal customer base. So it was important that any development of our brand voice, brand identity and its application across our visual brand language needed to be carried out with careful thought and planning. Baxter & Bailey did exactly that. They’ve retained the core of what makes Dobbies what it is, but surprised and delighted us with their creative evolution. We love the developed brand and we can’t wait to take the work further.
The Green Team
Dobbies resident experts, the Green Team is on hand in every store to advise customers on everything from the punchiest perennials to the best BBQ. To make sure these experts are easy to spot, we developed a visual brand language just for them. Inspired by the shapes of plant labels and their handwritten annotations, we developed a system to communicate advice, tips and inspiration to customers both in-store and online.
The team at Baxter & Bailey has ensured that our core idea – expressed perfectly in our new strapline Love Garden Living – sits at the heart of everything we do. As a result, the core brand and its extension across our food halls, coffee shops, restaurants and membership scheme Club Plus all embody this joyful celebration of gardening.
Club Plus
To say Dobbies customers are loyal is something of an understatement. This brand has fans! We updated and relaunched the Dobbies Club Plus members brand by bringing a colourful burst of joy to the identity system, distilling Dobbies famous flower marque into a floral plus. And with a vibrant new approach to colour, our aim was to make the Club Plus card leap out of every member’s wallet and purse.
Special Thanks
After more than a year of collaboration with the Dobbies team, we’ve all rediscovered our own love of garden living! Special thanks to Kirsty, Phil, Sam, Laura and the team in Scotland. Here’s to a perennial collaboration that grows and grows!