Tothepoint has created the branding for a new loyalty scheme for Croydon, building on its previous work for London’s biggest borough.
It has around 390,000 residents, of which more than 190,000 live in the town of Croydon itself, and it’s also home to big employers like the Home Office.
But Croydon has sometimes struggled with its reputation. In 2013, a poll named it the second crappiest town in the country and last year it was named “the most depressing place” to live in London, and the 12th most depressing in the UK.
This led to a feisty backlash though – last August The Telegraph ran a piece headlined, “Why Everything You Think About Croydon Is Wrong” which praised its spirit and innovation, and argued that “Britain’s most slandered town does not deserve its reputation.”
Tothepoint’s new visuals for the Checkout Croydon scheme
Like many UK high streets, “Croydon town centre is struggling,” says Matthew Sims, who has been chief executive of Croydon Business Improvement District (BID) since 2012. Part of his remit is to encourage more people to spend more time and money in the town centre.
BIDs are defined areas in which local businesses have voted to invest together to improve the local environment. Croydon BID is the biggest in the UK, and represents 500 businesses.
Sims and his team launched a discount card, designed by London-based studio Tothepoint, around 10 years ago, but it struggled to collect exclusive offers, and was short-lived.
This new iteration of Checkout Croydon is purely digital, and it’s open to employees, visitors and residents – other BID discount cards tend to be open just to employees.
Sim believes that “some towns and cities can be too risk-averse with campaigns. Creatively, we wanted it to be risky, different and to stand out.”
Tothepoint’s team was responsible for the brand concept, advertising, web development, campaign messaging and animated content.
The identity not only had to stand out so that it would drive public engagement, it also had to sit cohesively within Croydon BID’s broader marketing ecosystem.
Tothepoint has been working with the client for more than eight years. “Too often, I see businesses changing their approach to creative design from agency to agency,” says Sims. Instead, he wanted a long-term relationship for consistency and the studio’s ability “to take a campaign and really unpack it.”
Tothepoint’s redesign for Croydon BID
Previously, Tothepoint oversaw a brand refresh and redesigned website for the Croydon BID, which both went live in May 2024.
The new website merged previously separate BID and consumer websites into one offering, while having a clear split between business and leisure – blue and Avant Garde font for the former; pink and Silka font for the latter.
“Previously, they were competing against each other for attention,” says Tothepoint head of digital, James Hipkiss.
Tothepoint’s new visuals for the Checkout Croydon scheme
For Checkout Croydon, the designers looked at other BID websites, noting that in the US, where BIDs have blossomed, they are geared towards the consumer.
The Checkout Croydon brand mark has two interlocking C’s – for Checkout and Croydon – which form a subtle pin location icon. Its neon pink background is intended to be highly visible, and create digital impact.
For the Checkout Croydon campaign, Tothepoint set out to make direct connections with the target audience.
Creative director Kevin Cox says he and his team made a “conscious effort to bring in humour, and reflect the multicultural and working-class make-up of Croydon.”
Sims backs this up. “We wanted to talk to the punter, the customer, wherever you are, at work, in the pub, in the toilets. It had to be playful and put a smile on people’s faces.”
Tothepoint’s new visuals for the Checkout Croydon scheme
To avoid sounding corporate, Tothepoint went for conversational copy and cheeky wordplay across the card’s five categories of eating, drinking, entertainment, shopping and general.
“We were trying to test the water with street talk – we felt it might make even more of a connection,” says Cox.
They also developed a series of animated animal characters, and paired each with a headline. So eating’s “Deals to drool over” is illustrated by a big dog sitting at a dining table, saliva pouring out of its mouth as it eyes a burger.
Tothepoint used AI to implement the visual side of the concept more cost effectively.
“Checkout Croydon is not a silver bullet, but provides a tool,” says Sims. “The card offers businesses a chance to gain new custom, and keep current custom.”
In the first two days, there were 1,200 sign-ups, and website traffic was double those of a typical month.
Tothepoint’s new visuals for the Checkout Croydon scheme