COUNT

Brand experience

Uniting three brands under one roof

Challenge

Bring together COUNT’s three sub-brands, COUNT Energy Trading, COUNT Energy Distribution, and COUNT Westgass under a well-defined brand architecture, revamp the brand identity, and build a website that showcases each sub-brand’s unique offerings.

Outcome

A future-proof master brand, The COUNT Group, that serves as the face of the three sub-brands. The compelling brand is supported by a sleek new website that tells the brand’s story, showcases their diverse range of products and services, and gives each sub-brand its own space to shine.

Impact

The COUNT Group now boasts a cohesive brand identity and comprises three strong, differentiated sub-brands that are consistent with the master brand. Each sub-brand’s purpose, promise, and products are clearly reflected in a sleek and informative group website.

Cohesive

brand identity

Strategy

Rotterdam-born energy and renewables trading company COUNT comprises three sub-brands: COUNT Energy Trading, COUNT Energy Distribution, and COUNT Westgass. When COUNT reached out, they had a fragmented brand identity and three separate websites for each sub-brand. They asked us to unify the sub-brands under a cohesive umbrella brand and position the brand as a leader in the petrochemicals industry.

After conducting a brand assessment, we proposed a monolithic brand architecture structure, or what we call a branded house. Under this structure, a single master brand acts as the umbrella under which its sub-brands coexist as independent entities. The master brand, which in COUNT’s case was established as The COUNT Group, needed a strong brand identity to build equity and awareness. This identity would also feed into the sub-brands’ identities to ensure they are recognizable as part of the master brand.

Building the master brand started with defining its purpose, vision, and mission. We consolidated the sub-brands’ stories and values into a consistent identity that encompasses the core of each sub-brand. The sub-brands are positioned as affiliated yet independent brands with differentiated identities that come together under the master brand. This is reinforced through an informative website that tells the master brand’s story and highlights each sub-brand’s unique offerings.

Creative

The creative challenge was to create a visual identity that incorporates each sub-brand and stands alone as a bold and memorable master brand. We did this by first establishing the master brand’s identity.

The full stop in COUNT’s existing logo was dropped and the letters were tweaked to create a sleeker and more minimalistic look. The brand’s primary color is black - the sum of all colors. The sub-brands’ identities are based on the master brand. We used the same logo, typography, and photography to maintain consistency and defined different color palettes for each sub-brand to set them apart. All design assets are documented in an extensive brand guide.

For the website, the goal was to consolidate each of the sub-brands’ websites into a single easy-to-use platform. The homepage tells the brand’s story while offering a user-friendly and memorable experience. To showcase what The COUNT Group’s sub-brands have to offer, we created dedicated webpages for each. These webpages inform site visitors of what services and solutions each sub-brand provides and how.

COUNT x DPDK Digital Agency Unifying Brands

COUNT x DPDK Digital Agency Website Design

COUNT x DPDK Digital Agency Website Development

Technology

The COUNT Group’s website is built with Remix, a full-stack framework that offers site visitors a fast and seamless user experience. Code components were built using React, along with TailwindCSS - a utility-first framework that enables custom styling. The content management system (CMS) we chose is Prismic, one of our go-to headless CMSes thanks to its simple setup and ease of use.

Tech partners

Highlights

Stellar collaboration with the client. Multiple feedback sessions helped ensure we were on the same page and delivered what COUNT was looking for.
The challenge of bringing three brands together was rewarding to overcome! We’re stoked to see The COUNT Group make waves with their new branding and website.