Sharing the Joy of Outdoor Adventure

The Challenge

We were thrilled when 53 Degrees North approached us to refresh their brand. With 3 stores and a growing online business, 53 is Ireland’s largest independent stockists of all things outdoor. The brand was founded by two Irish friends who shared a love for the outdoors. While the business was growing, the brand identity lacked clarity and had poor recall. With more competitors entering the market, now was the time to refresh and future proof the 53 brand.

Our Response

We kicked off with a brand workshop with management and key staff members. What really shone through was their passion and knowledge of the sector and their loyal customer base of outdoor enthusiasts. Each of the team has a particular expertise, experiences and adventures they are only too happy to share. To capture this unique brand spirit, we created the strapline and hashtag – ‘Happy Out’. It was the perfect platform to build the brand tone and personality – quintessentially Irish, positive, witty and tongue-in-cheek.

Once we had the strategy in place, we designed a clear and confident brand mark. The sky blue, bold typography and sweeping landscape photography combine to give a sense of escape, freedom and adventure.

Testimonial

“Working with Bossanova was an absolute pleasure. They were charged with redeveloping the brand Identity for us – a delicate project, which had many stakeholders across the business. They negotiated through the project with the care and dedication that was required to get the project over the line in time for our new store opening in Blanchardstown. From brief right through to delivery, they took time to ask questions and to truly get behind what we were trying to achieve. The end result exceeded our expectations and we have been delighted with how smooth the brand was rolled out across our retail stores and digital channels. I have been involved in brand redesigns in previous roles and I can say that this project was one of the smoothest I have ever worked on, it is all down to Joan and her team.

Since the redevelopment, we have seen brand recall increase and we now have a 90% brand recall versus 50% before the redesign. The refresh has been very well received by many of the brands we stock to include big names such as; The North Face and Columbia. We are now seen as progressive and innovative with many brands keen to work with us – as opposed to us having to persuade brands we are worthy of their attention. We now believe we have a brand that can compete with the best of them and are excited to embark on the next phase of brand evolution with Bossanova.”

Ben Finnegan, Former 53 Degrees North Marketing & e-Commerce Manager