Toop + Toop

Evolving an iconic South Australian real estate brand.

The Brief

A rebrand to signal the ‘changing of the guard’.

South Australia’s most awarded real estate agency, Toop + Toop, engaged Fuller to undertake a brand refresh at a critical juncture in the agency’s growth and development.

After undertaking a process of succession planning, Toop + Toop had just been handed down from its founders — Anthony and Sylvia Toop — to the next generation of Toops — Bronte Manuel, Genevieve Toop and Suzannah Toop.

It was important that the rebrand signaled the ‘changing of the guard’ within the business, and ensured that Toop + Toop maintained its leadership position within the highly competitive and rapidly evolving South Australian real estate industry.

Services Provided

Brand Strategy & Identity, Design & Motion Graphics

The iconic black and white palate and brand name were kept, as research indicated that there was significant brand equity in these assets.

Strategy

We began by undertaking extensive research.

Before starting on the brand refresh, Fuller began by undertaking extensive research to inform the Toop + Toop brand strategy.

This research was both qualitative and quantitative, and included:

  • Analysing Toop + Toop’s brand peers — other aspirational brands — both in the real estate sector, and more importantly, across other industries.
  • Running a series of workshops to learn about staff perceptions of the Toop + Toop brand, and what makes the brand unique; and
  • Sending a survey to more than 2,000 past and current clients to gain insights about how the brand was perceived by the public and those who have engaged Toop + Toop to sell, buy, or rent a home.

A ‘+’ symbol, which stands for ‘more’ replaced the ampersand, while at the same time acting as a new graphic device that visually represents the Toop and Toop difference.

From this research, some key themes and findings began to emerge, namely, the concept of ‘more’. Consistently, both the agents and clients told us that Toop + Toop has more experience. More time. More effort. More trust. More insights. More data. More results. More care.

This concept was developed into the ‘Expect More’ brand tagline, which challenges their potential and current customers, their competitors, and their own agents.

When it came to design, Fuller created a contemporary rendition of the original brand.

The primary font is a new modern Swiss typeface, where the ‘O’ letterforms are perfectly circular, resulting in a beautiful balance with the new plus symbol. The secondary font is reserved for the tagline and hero headlines, and has a dramatic ‘thick and thin’ delicacy and pairs well with the primary sans-serif font.

The refreshed brand was trialed, tested and printed in a variety of formats before roll out — including sign boards and on a realestate.com.au profile — to ensure it had impact across multiple formats and applications.

Results

When the brand was presented to 100 Toop + Toop staff and key stakeholders, it was received to rapturous applause, and even some tears.