Dumbarton – Shop Local

Brief: Dumbarton is 15 miles west of Glasgow and sits on the banks of the River Clyde and the town is the ancient capital of Strathclyde and also the longest continually-inhabited place in Great Britain. Dumbarton with its iconic Rock was at one time renowned for its shipbuilding skills and includes the world famous Cutty Sark amongst the many ships launched from its yards. Unfortunately, Dumbarton like many other towns has seen the impact of out-of-town retail developments and the town’s High Street, once the focus for everything retail, has experienced a downturn in shoppers. In 2010, a focus was placed on encouraging people back to the High Street and we were briefed to create a brand identity and support materials for its Shop Local campaign.

Creative: We’ve created an identity to reflect the town’s iconic Rock and Dumbarton Burgh’s former Coat of Arms of an elephant and castle. The elephant and castle device represent the rock with the castle on top and we’ve developed a stylised version of the elephant carrying a shopping bag. This simple yet powerful graphic has also been created using the blue and yellow colours within the Coat of Arms of Dumbarton Burgh. The motto on the Coat of Arms of Aonaichte means Togetherness, and symbolises the unification of three burghs and districts. The campaign message is Think Local, Shop Local and this is underpinned with the strap line Together for Dumbarton Town Centre.

Result: The branding and support materials for Dumbarton’s Shop Local campaign are now being used on a range of marketing and promotional materials and feedback to the contemporary brand device has been excellent.