Hornit
Case Study
Unifying and defining this innovative cycling brand
The Mission
Hornit are an innovative and creative brand that designs and manufactures quality cycling accessories. From the flagship horns to helmets and lights to the world’s smallest bike rack the Clug, the Hornit range is vast. Our mission was to help the Hornit team to unify the brand which had become confused through the addition of new product ranges.
The Outcome
We worked with Hornit first through a Brand Audit where we looked at the brand, the messaging, website, competition and the product confusion confirming that the brand was struggling with an identity crisis. We then facilitated a brand workshop with the founder Tom and head of marketing Katie to re-define the brand and unify it. Finally we developed a set of brand guidelines to encompass this work and bring the brand together.
The Impact
Since our work unifying the brand Hornit has gone on to re-design their packaging (internally) and website (with Dirty Martini Marketing) using the unified brand platform and guidelines we produced, making the process faster and easier.
Share:
Services Provided
Brand Audit
Brand Workshop
Brand Positioning
Brand Architecture
Logo Design Refine
Brand Guidelines
The Challenge
The brand was founded in 2012 by Tom De Pelet a keen cyclist who saw a gap in the market for innovative cycling accessories that didn’t compromise on style. The first product was the world’s loudest bike horn designed for commuters in busy cities like London. as the brand developed more products, acquired others and scaled the brand became confused and lost its identity. Our challenge was to help Hornit uncover the brand, unify it and help them build a platform that would help them to take it to the next level.
Developing the brand strategy
Our first step in defining the brand and developing the brand strategy was to do research on the target audience and direct and in-direct competitors. We looked at how the competition was positioned, their strengths and weaknesses and how we could differentiate from them. We looked at the demographics and psychographics of the target audience and built out brand personas for each audience segment. We facilitated a brand building workshop with Tom and Katie to flesh out the core brand platform including purpose, vision, mission, values, positioning, brand attributes and messaging.
Refining and focusing the brand Identity
From the brand workshop we had a clearer idea of the internal brand and the target audience and out of that came the work we did on refining the visual identity and branding elements. Before working with us Hornit had a number of logos for the different product ranges, used different colours for these and had a wide array of fonts they were using. We first defined a brand family architecture and tied the product logos together using the same colours fonts and spacing. We then allowed each product its own unique identity within the overarching brand, with the biggest difference coming from the adult and kids ranges.
Brand Guidelines
It became apparent that in order to formalise the work we had done in the audit and workshop we needed to create a set of brand guidelines that the Hornit team could use internally, with partners and with distributors that maintained this visual language of the brand and allowed for the brand to add new product lines with a set of rules that were future proof. They have recently added a new range of balance bikes to their range which post dates our work but uses the guidelines to keep the range on brand.
Website design using the brand guidelines
Website by Dirty Martini Marketing
The new website for Hornit was designed by Dirty Martini Marketing and they have done an excellent job of building out the site using the brand guidelines we created to keep the brand unified.
Packaging design using the brand guidelines
Packaging by Hornit Team
The Hornit team recently updated their packaging to encompass the changes formalised in the brand guidelines and this as with the website was completely independent of our involvement which is exactly what the guidelines were meant for.
Packaging design done in house by the Hornit team.
The Outcome
The brand has continued to grow and they now have a unified brand that allows Hornit to develop the brand, scale it, add new products and build the brand internally and with partners like Dirty Martini without the worry of confusing the brand again. Hornit is such a great brand and it was a pleasure to help them unify their brand.
Chris is the person you wished you had spoken to sooner. When I received his email talking about the problems faced by a brand in the throws of an identity crisis, it was like he was peering into the depths of my soul. I called him immediately and set up a meeting. I warned him he had a near impossible task on his hands as I and many others had wrestled endlessly with the DNA of the HORNIT brand for years. We make make niche, innovative cycle accessories. He did a detailed, insightful brand audit and, having got inside the brand, had plenty of really good ideas we have since adopted. It was impressive stuff. He has also provided us with an extraordinarily detailed and helpful set of brand guidelines. It now means everything hangs together in the 'right' way and the whole team suddenly understands what we stand for and the direction we are going in. Since Chris' intervention we have been able to rebrand our packaging almost painlessly when before there was confusion and endless wasted time. He has made a truly remarkable difference in a very short amount of time.
Tom De PeletFounder, Hornit
More Projects
