Auckland real estate refresh: New look for market leader

Tuesday 1 October 2019

One of New Zealand’s oldest and most respected real estate agencies, Barfoot & Thompson, is overhauling its brand for the first time in more than 40 years.

With thousands of ‘For Sale’ and ‘For Rent’ signs posted around Auckland and Northland at any one time, the refreshed Barfoot & Thompson brand will quite literally change the face of the local real estate market as it rolls out over the coming months.

Managing Director, Peter Thompson says it is an exciting time for the company which has successfully sold more than 136,000 homes over the past decade and expanded to include property management, body corporate, commercial and project services.

“Now is the perfect time for this change. Our business and expertise has grown significantly since our last brand update. We are acknowledged as a market leader and innovator in our industry and were recently voted the Best Real Estate Agency in the World, beating 900 international agencies from 23 countries. It is time for our branding to truly reflect that.”

Peter Thompson says the new branding retains the trusted Barfoot and Thompson family names, while giving greater visibility to business divisions beyond residential sales, and better reflecting the modern company of today.

“We value the confidence our clients place in our brand, often for some of the most important transactions of their lives. Our new logo and branding approach is about showing everyone who engages with Barfoot & Thompson that we are indeed the modern, sophisticated and progressive real estate professionals they know us as.

“We believe it is a new look that anyone would be happy to have on signage outside their home, on their commercial listing or even their local sports team jersey as part of one of our many community sponsorships.”

He notes the change will not happen overnight, but in the most sustainable way over several months, as thousands of assets are rebranded, and new reusable signage is produced.

Coming to a street near you:

• More than 7,000 new and reusable ‘For Sale’, ‘Open Home’ and ‘For Rent’ signs

• Signs and branding for more than 75 branches stretching from Kerikeri in the north to Tuakau in the south

• Wraps for the fleet of 225 vehicles

• The gradual replacement of thousands of marketing materials as they are required

• New jerseys for local sports teams, including Auckland Rugby as the first to run out on the field with the new logo

Barfoot & Thompson Chief Marketing Officer Chris Andersen says the refreshed logo is respectful of the company’s more than 95-year heritage, while meeting the needs of a modern company and brand.

“We have a proud culture built on almost a century of family ownership, which continues today. As part of this process we commissioned in-depth research with our leadership, all business divisions including over 1,500 salespeople, and most importantly, our clients.

“From that process we knew that this branding exercise was simply about demonstrating the strengths of our offering in a more clear and modern way. The previous look was well-known and respected but was getting tired and did not always lend itself to modern media uses.”

He says people will still see the trusted Barfoot & Thompson name front and centre, as well as a nod to the traditional colours they’ve become accustomed to, but within a totally updated approach.

“The logo has progressed into a cleaner, geometric font, with a more vibrant colour palette, and we’ve shed the ‘blue box’ that once contained the main elements.

Key to the new look is also the ampersand, which is given pride of place and prominence to the right of the lockup.

“The ‘and’ is at the heart of the Barfoot & Thompson story, highlighting the two founding families which still own and manage the company today.

“It is also a signal of the culture of the business, which values people, family, diversity and community at its core.”

Flowing from the base design, there are also distinctive sub-logos and accent-colours to represent the company’s many other business divisions, giving each their own visual identity.

Hot on the heels of the new logo release, the company will also launch a new brand campaign that brings Barfoot & Thompson values to life.

ENDS

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