The Droughtmaster Stud Breeders Society approached the agency with a request to revitalise their brand with a new strategy, positioning and identity.
Happily, we were faced with the classic challenge of the product (article) being better than the existing branding.
Traditionally, Droughtmaster and other beef brands had only focussed on beef producers in the supply chain – not the consumer.
We saw the need to balance consumer trends and industry requirements in our final brand identity.
The agency team conducted extensive research across the supply chain including interviewing society members and industry participants from farm to fork. These interviews, as well as the legacy and heritage factors played a significant role in our strategic thinking.
We were keen to retain the heritage of Australia for its emotional connection and also because of the value brand Australia holds in export markets. However, spontaneous associations with the word drought are: resilient, tough and hardy – negative attributes we had to reframe in our communication.
The Australian heritage of the brand was important but not ownable. We wanted an idea, grounded in a truth, that could offer utility across the whole supply chain as well as consumers.
Natural?
Droughtmaster is a low-maintenance breed that genetically doesn’t require the handling or chemical interventions that many British and European breeds do. This natural, low-touch approach to farming is trending with today’s consumers.
The brand tagline was rounded out with the inclusion of wonder. Few words were able to aptly capture the innate qualities of this iconic breed and its ongoing success in Australia’s difficult farming environment of recent years.
Importantly the Australia’s natural wonder brand idea softened the brand feel (the previous website is captured in the video below).
Visually, we were keen to show the Droughtmaster for the resilient animal that it is.
To this end, we customised a tall, angular font enabling us to craft a powerful wordmark logo. The font strength gives the Droughtmaster wordmark the feel of a cattle brand.
The colour palette is selected from the Droughtmaster’s habitat, celebrating the place of the animal. These striking, natural colours are arranged in a bold, contemporary manner.
The Droughtmaster website had been identified as a critical touchpoint for redesign to reflect the changes to the masterbrand identity and the business’ future direction. Our goal here was to not only update the visuals, but to better tell the brand and breed story and simplify pathways to important information. www.droughtmaster.com.au
The brand was launched in June 2020 and is rolling out across all Droughtmaster touchpoints.
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