[a] client

Startup identity design and brand consulting for Dubh Mor

Dubh Mor offers guiding and instruction in hillwalking, scrambling, climbing and multi-day adventures.

Neil Kerr approached us to create a visual identity for his fledgling business along with marketing materials, graphics and digital tools.

Services

Branding • Consulting • Design

Consultancy —

The challenge

Neil was a well known and successful sole trader in the outdoors industry.

Dubh Mor was established to increase Neil’s visibility and build his private client work.

This was Neil’s first startup company and he would be the face of the brand. As he sold his skills to the public, it was important that he could convey his personality as well as leveraging the Dubh Mor brand to convey the professional face.

The process

[a] helped Neil to identify his prospective customers and communicate in their language.

Initially, we recommended a ‘brand for investment’, rapidly building a brand identity and assets, setting up social media channels, training Neil in their use and then building a professional digital infrastructure (custom web domain, holding website and professional email). This allowed Dub Mor to start trading right off the bat.

We planned when and how he might outgrow his holding website and created a distinct service offering and sales funnel. Finally, we referred Dub Mor to a web developer to build his custom website.

The journey

Neil needed a brand which communicated both the extreme and the achievable.

Dubh Mòr sounds a bit like it means Do More. In Gaelic, it translates to big black" or "large dark”. Neil is a Scots Gaelic speaker, and this skill makes up a part of his outdoor experiences.

Dubh Mor is for people who believe that they are capable of achieving huge feats with the right knowledge. This idea is present across all of his communications.

The result

Within three years Dub Mor had become Neil’s primary source of income. The Dub Mor brand (and its website) are seen as the gold standard within the Scottish outdoors sector.

Neil is confidently managing his website, social media profiles and messaging. [In part because they are a natural extension of his personality and in part thanks to our training.]