Refining the core Be At One brand foundations

Be At One, a well-established and loved brand that mark their impressive 25th birthday this year, came to us for assistance in refining their core brand foundations. 

The key with any project like this is to unearth what is working for a brand and what isn't. To retain what makes the brand recognisable but to remove the potentially negative or inconsistent elements that are holding it back. Through a four-stage process, we refined their brand to keep it relevant and maintain its appeal to an ever-evolving market.

Stage 1: Research & Insight

We conducted a comprehensive review of existing brand documentation, undertook internal stakeholder interviews, and evaluated the key competitor landscape. By immersing ourselves in the Be At One experience through in-person experience audits and customer focus groups, we gained valuable insights to guide our recommendations for the brand strategy and creative enhancements that followed.

Stage 2: Menu Analysis 

Recognising the significance of the Be At One menu, which is one of the only items guests physically interact with in venues, we carefully considered customer navigation, design, legibility, and durability. Based on our insights, we made recommendations for improving both the printed and app versions. Our F&B Consulting team also reviewed and made recommendations on how best to optimise the drinks range, ensuring it aligned with the target audience's expectations and preferences.

Stage 3: Brand Strategy Identification 

Building upon the brand's existing strong pillars, we conducted a reappraisal of their current strategy. We developed a clear proposition, reworked guest profiling, and defined new brand values, personality, essence, and manifesto — all rooted in the research and insight from Stage 1.

Stage 4: Brand Expression 

In this final stage, we put the previous stages into creative action, refreshing major touchpoints like menus, POS, and social assets. While retaining key elements, such as fonts and colourways, we introduced new complimentary colours, fonts, layouts, and photography. We also refreshed the brand's tone of voice to align with the updated proposition, defining how the brand should speak through digital and printed channels.

The resulting brand refresh showcased a fresh, confident, and exciting menu design, along with a suite of new photography, culminating in a comprehensive new brand guidelines document.

The full brand refresh was presented to key stakeholders at the Be At One showcase in April, and the new menu is now live in all venues across the UK.

Visit your nearest Be At One location to experience the refreshed brand first-hand.