Gillies & Mackay - Brand Case Study

Let’s make the best sheds in the world

“When it comes to creativity, I’m set for life. I’ll never have to worry about my brand again. I’ll never face a creative barrier again. Col’s given me the freedom to not worry about my brand. And that’s something I’ll always be grateful for.”
- Cara Mackay

The Changing Face of Gillies & Mackay

We were united by a sense of being outsiders. Business networking events have never really been my thing. But, back in those early days, I thought that’s what you needed to do. The classic case of ‘pushing myself outside my comfort boundaries’. The usual business small talk of ‘so, what do you do’ was broken when I met Cara. Now, she’s the face, personality and leader of Gillies and Mackay. Back then, she was just starting out on that journey. I instantly liked her. She was honest and fun, but it was more than that. What came across was how passionate she was about her business. I could tell she cared. It’s hardly surprising given that Gillies and Mackay is very much a family affair.

The Changing Face of Gillies & Mackay

We were united by a sense of being outsiders. Business networking events have never really been my thing. But, back in those early days, I thought that’s what you needed to do. The classic case of ‘pushing myself outside my comfort boundaries’. The usual business small talk of ‘so, what do you do’ was broken when I met Cara. Now, she’s the face, personality and leader of Gillies and Mackay. Back then, she was just starting out on that journey. I instantly liked her. She was honest and fun, but it was more than that. What came across was how passionate she was about her business. I could tell she cared. It’s hardly surprising given that Gillies and Mackay is very much a family affair.

Gillies and Mackay | The Best Sheds in the World

The business was formed by Cara’s Dad, John, and her Uncle Grant. Together they built sheds and summer houses. But they did more than that. They built a family business. And they also built a formidable reputation for the quality of the timber buildings they created. What they weren’t building was the business Cara knew they could build. A business that the entire family could be rightly proud of. From the age of fourteen, Cara had been involved in every aspect of the business. Cara put her hand up and offered to take the lead on managing the business. That meant studying Business Management at university. That meant taking the responsibility to change the face of Gillies and Mackay.

When Cara talks about her family, she’s uncompromising. What she wants more than anything is for her Dad and Grant to be rewarded for all their hard work. She wants them to get the recognition they deserve. And she also wants to provide for their retirement. No mean feat for a business that’s starred the prospect of collapse in the face before.

Gillies and Mackay | The Best Sheds in the World

The business was formed by Cara’s Dad, John, and her Uncle Grant. Together they built sheds and summer houses. But they did more than that. They built a family business. And they also built a formidable reputation for the quality of the timber buildings they created. What they weren’t building was the business Cara knew they could build. A business that the entire family could be rightly proud of. From the age of fourteen, Cara had been involved in every aspect of the business. Cara put her hand up and offered to take the lead on managing the business. That meant studying Business Management at university. That meant taking the responsibility to change the face of Gillies and Mackay.

When Cara talks about her family, she’s uncompromising. What she wants more than anything is for her Dad and Grant to be rewarded for all their hard work. She wants them to get the recognition they deserve. And she also wants to provide for their retirement. No mean feet for a business that’s starred the prospect of collapse in the face before.

Brand New

Taking responsibility started with Cara taking a long hard look at how they presented themselves to the World. She’d studied marketing as part of her course and knew immediately that something crucial was missing. They had no brand. They had no sense of identity. Before they could start the process of marketing the business, they first of all needed a hook to hang everything on. Creating a brand that the entire family could be proud of and get behind became the priority.

Cara is used to rolling up her sleeves and doing anything that needs to be done. But this was a stretch. Although she’s spent hours painting sheds, she knew that her creative skills didn’t include brand development. By this stage Cara and I were friends. When it came to turning that relationship into a business one, the conversation was short and simple. “Right Col, I’m ready. Let’s create a brand as brilliant as the business.”

Trapped in Shedland

We had a number of meetings to thrash out our ideas. It was very much a collaborative process – we were in this together. And, we got frustrated together. I created a number of concepts that all featured a shed as part of the design. Some were better than others and some, were awful. We were being too literal. We were trapped in Shedland.

At the end of our latest branding meeting, I turned to my sketch book. I sketched out a few more ideas, most of which were entirely ‘shed free’. We started our next session with me flicking through the book.

“Stop!. Go back.” Cara demanded.

I flicked back and Cara pointed to the sketch that got her excited. It was a simple sketch of a basic crest. It wasn’t complete, but Cara had seen enough and we finally had the basis for the Gillies and Mackay brand. As a designer, it’s moments like this that are special. Once I’ve got a concept, I’ve got something to get my teeth into. It was a real breakthrough moment.

We worked through a number of iterations to get to the final design. What was great was that we felt the same way about it. It was a crest, and of course crests are often associated with families, especially in Scotland. It also felt like a seal of approval, and while we’d escaped ‘Shedland’ the wood effect finish gave a nod to what the business is literally built from.

Brand Beginnings and the World Wide Web

The new branding was added to invoices and the basic business stationery was created, but what was really needed was a website. Cara knew that a lack of a professional web presence was harming the business. The new brand identity enabled that process to begin. We worked together to create version one of the site, but even while we created it, we were already talking about version two. And this is why I love working with Cara. That sense of being in this together. The reality was that we needed a short term and a long term solution.

Cara left me to it. She trusted me to make it happen. Having that freedom meant we were able to get the first version of the site up relatively quickly. The same can’t be said for version two. It definitely took a lot longer than planned. Partly this was down to getting the content; specifically the words and pictures to do the site justice. There was also a different feel to this project. Where quality was concerned, we were uncompromising. If it took a while to get the right photograph, then we’d wait.

When we pushed the ‘publish’ button on the site, there was a mix of feelings. We were relieved that we’d crossed the finishing line and excited to see the hard work shared with the family and the wider world.

The Brand Difference | Cara’s Perspective

“From the outset, what I wanted was a brand that my Dad and Grant would be proud of. I wanted to put their name in lights and I wanted it to be symbol to the whole family that the business was changing. No longer were we going to be a seasonal business. We know we build the best sheds in the World, now it’s time to tell the rest of the World.

The real difference though has been in cold hard cash. We made the same in 3 months than we would have in an entire year. It was because of the branding. I know that the brand has made the difference. For a start, it made the sales process easier for everyone.”

“The whole experience has given me a huge amount of confidence to take the business forward. This was my first major project as Managing Director of the business, I feel I proved something to my family and yes, myself.

The truth is, I couldn’t have done this without Col. From the first moment I met him I knew that I could trust him. Who doesn’t trust a designer that admits that they’re ‘shit at drawing’? He’s proved that I’m a good judge of character. For Gillies and Mackay, Col is way more than a designer. He’s our Creative Director. He owns our brand. And I mean that literally.”

The whole experience has given me a huge amount of confidence to take the business forward. This was my first major project as Managing Director of the business, I feel I proved something to my family and yes, myself.

The truth is, I couldn’t have done this without Col. From the first moment I met him I knew that I could trust him. Who doesn’t trust a designer that admits that they’re ‘shit at drawing’? He’s proved that I’m a good judge of character. For Gillies and Mackay, Col is way more than a designer. He’s our Creative Director. He owns our brand. And I mean that literally.

“When it comes to creativity, I’m set for life. I’ll never have to worry about my brand again. I’ll never face a creative barrier again. Col’s given me the freedom to not worry about my brand. And that’s something I’ll always be grateful for.

At a time when money was tight, investing in Col has been the smartest investment I’ve ever made.”

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