Drop The Hammer
A new approach to powersports branding
Drop the hammer (DTH) have a clear vision, to become Europe’s leading recreational powersports retailer, and a unique approach to make it happen. They aren’t just looking to sell equipment, they want to use powersports to increase fun and promote adventure.
This wouldn’t be possible using industry standard outlets, where products are piled high and only the most diehard enthusiasts are welcome. So instead DTH are building exciting experiences, open and welcome to all. To help make this vision a reality DTH tasked rbl with creating a brand as accessible and powerful as the products they sell.
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Insight
While the DTH approach is new to the UK, it is inspired by the growing trend for ‘experience retail’ in the USA. The business was keen to tap into the aspirational appeal of American powersports, which is why they chose to use an American saying for accelerating – ‘Drop the Hammer’ – as the company name.
We saw an opportunity to bring a piece of the USA into the brand language too – to create a brand which took the traditional vernacular of American powersports and translated it into a contemporary European retail experience.
Ideas
We used American style square typography with sudden changes in width but removed the transatlantic finishes and effects. We took the aspirational, movie like, photography and put it in reach of the everyday customer. Finally, we transformed the bold DTH proposition ‘more power, more choice, more support, more fun’ and turned it into an equally bold and sophisticated spark like logo – the spark of fun!.’
A tweak to the name – dropping the ‘Displays’ suffix and incorporating the ‘we are’ from the new online presence – opened up more flexibility to; present a wider set of solutions, represent the unique ‘family’ character of the organisation and create the perception of a dynamic team that likes to roll its sleeves up and make things happen.
Impact
A wide range of brand assets and clear guidelines with strong guiding principles have already empowered DTH to activate their brand over a 20,000 square foot retail experience, and a sector leading ecommerce website.
Video production by www.morgangoodsmith.com.
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“I was blown away by the value rbl could add to our brand, they instantly understood what we were looking for and worked rapidly and collaboratively to bring it to life.”
Neil Worsley
Director, DTH
