Ellis patents brand new look

 New look, new name - Ellis

Oct 2011

Leading cable cleat manufacturer, Ellis Patents has invested £30,000 in overhauling its brand - a move that the company says is aimed at bringing the image it portrays in line with the technical expertise its team and products are known for across the world.

A key element of this process has been the shortening of the company's name to Ellis - a decision managing director, Richard Shaw, explains.

"Ellis Patents is a name with a great deal of history, but it has often led to confusion as the Patents suggests something we're clearly not," he said. "As such, it was felt that the streamlined name, in tandem with the strapline Holding Power, would eradicate this issue and get across exactly what we do."

The spark for the rebranding came in 2009 when the company was invited to participate in the Labour Government's Designing Demand Immerse project. The scheme, which was shelved as part of the Coalition's cut backs in 2010, teamed SMEs with design associates and was aimed at resolving business challenges through design.

"The whole process has been a real eye-opener," continued Richard. "The Immersion Day, which kicked it all off, saw us meeting with an industrial product designer, advertising expert, and re-branding and packaging specialist, who came in and challenged everything we thought we knew about the company and how it looked to the outside world."

"The day highlighted some major problems with our branding - most worryingly that our literature was a mish-mash of different styles, some of our packaging dated back 20-years and our website compounded this with its confusing and complicated layout."

A subsequent detailed report recommended steps that could be taken to use design to improve the business. Acting on this, the company opted for a full rebranding exercise and was teamed up with its own design consultant, Robert Bewick of Robert Bewick Limited, whose role was to partner them with a suitable specialist. Vivid Creative of Sheffield was eventually appointed and the fruits of the process are now being seen with the launch of a new website, logo, strapline, corporate literature and packaging. And, of course, the streamlined company name.

Client: Ellis Patents