House of York Rebrand.

Dynamic design for the urbanite

Household accessories are usually associated with the tedious task of shopping for the essentials, which doesn’t get the average retailers’ heart skipping a beat. Bread box, tick, a wooden spoon, tick. That was all before House of York recruited Boomtown to shake things up in the household accessories arena and get shoppers coveting their beautifully designed products.

A leading manufacturer of wooden household products, House Of York decided it was time to give its classic, heritage brand a riveting, new look and positioning to meet retailers’ needs and to introduce their new contemporary range that would bring creativity into every aspect of the home.

So, how exactly does one make household accessories va-va-voom? Boomtown’s strategic team decided to carry out an in-depth survey, made accessible via click-through banners on key Home and Lifestyle websites. The team then analysed the data from the surveys and unlocked an integral insight – that the main purchasers of household accessories were young, chic couples or modern families setting-up a new home.

With the above insight, Boomtown paired the exceptional quality of House of York with a modern logo and aesthetically chic packaging to create a dynamic, urban design that would appeal to young, design-conscious, eco-friendly urbanites, along with the tagline ‘Living creativity’. To really push the rebrand forward, Boomtown was also involved in the product development and sourcing for the new product range, including eco-friendly, bamboo products.

The rebrand was rolled out in-store and on radio with digital competitions, creating awareness around the launch. House of York’s new brand positioning was stylish, trendy and inventive, perfectly ‘on point’ for the design-driven, lifestyle-orientated purchaser, who wants products that are not only innovative but that also reflect their unique taste and style.

The outcome – the dull days of household accessory shopping were over, the rebranding successfully matched the products’ design and functionality with the urban lifestyle, while the repositioning moved the brand into a contemporary space, to a new audience resulting in improved sales and increased brand relevancy. House of York was solidified as a South African household favourite, proving that you really can bring exciting design and ‘living creativity’ into every home.