Brand Focus: updating a 20 year old brand and website for the 2020s

When Armada Asset Finance asked for our help their brand and website were suffering from all of the above. We measure websites in dog-years, and their website was overdue for retirement. Businesses often keep assets longer than is ideal. They’re busy doing the work, getting along just fine and relying on relationships and referrals for work.

That’s a common story, we hear it all the time. And we sympathise. You’re busy with your business – but if you don’t have time to look after your brand and website it’ll begin to cause trouble. You may not even notice – but what of the lost opportunity cost? What of the clients that went elsewhere because another brand answered their needs better? It’s an unknown cost, but cost it is.

No matter, Armada hired the professionals. Us, that’s us. I’m talking about us. OK, so that’s clear. We’ve been creating fresh, bold brands and developing brilliant websites for over 13 years. So we know a thing or two about it. We knew at once what Armada needed, and it was our job to help them.

Building trust, and brands

It’s an investment, and it also requires a good deal of trust, on their part. Trust that we’ll take care of their brand as if it were our own. And that we’ll deliver a top-tier website that’s worth this investment. We’re taking their reputation and credibility into our hands, and that’s a big responsibility. We take this job very seriously. And we’re honoured by their trust.

We’re also honest and unfiltered, which many clients find refreshing. We’ll tell you if something is bad. In a friendly way, we’re not monsters. But you need to know. You’re making a significant investment, so we’ll make sure every penny is well spent. Here’s how we spent them.

PLOTT gets to work

Armada told us that there was little appetite to alter their identity, but we felt differently. We asked if we could try a little modernisation, just for them to see how it could work with a few adjustments. This would be an “evolution” of a logo, nothing wild. Richard replaced the dated script font, which was the “asset management” part – it’s now a classic serif to balance with the sans serif of the Armada. It was a big hit with the client, and now graces the top of the website – and all future collateral.

Alongside there’s all the other branding we do. This included creating an all new colour palette, selecting new typography and introducing a bold cartoon image style. There’s also new copywriting throughout, with a slightly more approachable tone. This helps to show the trustworthiness of this ethical business, with 50 years of successful trading. Then, there’s the website.

The PLOTT website

It’s just a WordPress website right? Totally. And no. WordPress is an incredibly flexible tool – but too often it’s used poorly. Well, WordPress is part of our stock-in-trade and we’ve spent years working out how to get the best out of it.

First we never use off-the-shelf page-builders. Avoid these. They’re a cheap way of building websites and, well, you get what you pay for. Bloated, slow and frustratingly difficult to learn how to use well. You don’t need all that.

Armada needed a lightweight website that does only what it needs to do. One that’s super-fast and a cinch to update. First off we binned all the standard WordPress pages – we’ll code our own, based on our designs. All the front end (stuff you can see) is unique to Armada.

Added to that are all the thousands of improvements we’ve made to our base-code. Improvements for page speed, security, accessibility, and SEO readiness. The result is a beautiful new website that’s both slick and quick.

That’s a PLOTT website.

Want a FREE Brand and Website Audit?

Think of it as a fact-finding exercise. We’ll report back with notes for improvement, covering branding, design and technical. We’re refreshingly unfiltered and honest. This is how we get such consistently great results.

If you’re a startup you may have nothing to audit. Or you already know your brand needs work. Maybe you hate your website. Don’t worry, it happens.

Either way, drop us a line – or use our online booking tool – and we’ll arrange a call to get the ball rolling.