{"id":13605,"date":"2025-08-19T16:37:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T09:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/gretna-green-says-i-do-to-squads-new-brand-identity\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T16:37:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T09:37:20","slug":"gretna-green-says-i-do-to-squads-new-brand-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/gretna-green-says-i-do-to-squads-new-brand-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"Gretna Green says \u201cI do\u201d to Squad\u2019s new brand identity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Squad<\/a> is repositioning Gretna Green as an experiential visitor destination with appeal beyond run-a-way weddings.<\/p>\n

The Scottish border village has been famous since 1754, when English people started eloping to its forge to get married by the blacksmith over an anvil. This was because young couples could bypass England\u2019s stricter marriage laws, which demanded parental consent for those under age.<\/p>\n

Gretna Green\u2019s fame has since been fuelled by its many mentions in films and TV shows, from Downton Abbey<\/em> and Bridgerton<\/em> to Coronation Street<\/em> and unforgettable 1980s sitcom You Rang, M\u2019Lord?<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Despite the UK\u2019s declining marriage rate<\/a>, the village still facilitates nearly 4,000 ceremonies a year, and in peak season can get through eight a day.<\/p>\n

But David Barraclough, creative partner at Squad, explains that changing attitudes to marriage are not \u201cthe driving factor\u201d behind the new look.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opportunity is bigger than that \u2013 to develop the site as a retail offer and visitor attraction,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The Lucky Arch typeface used for the branding alongside the inspiration from old signage at Gretna Green<\/p>\n

While Gretna Green is the name of the ancient village, it is also the name of the business which owns many of the village\u2019s key properties, including the Old Blacksmith\u2019s Shop and two hotels.<\/p>\n

Five generations of the Houston Family have run the Gretna Green business since 1885, and it\u2019s now under the leadership of John Holliday, who joined as executive chair in 2023. Squad\u2019s work is part of an \u00a38 million investment to rethink the entire visitor experience. The hope is that visitors will come to eat, drink, stay and explore, as well as marry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vision is to develop a broader offer, anchored in love, passion and escape,\u201d says Barraclough. \u201cYou might return for anniversaries; you might propose there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to reimagine the history we\u2019ve got and turn it into a 21st Century destination,\u201d says Oliver Rolfe, COO of Gretna Green. \u201cWe want to modernise the brand and the site for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to reimagine the history we\u2019ve got and turn it into a 21st Century destination.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a need to refurbish some parts of the site, and the team wanted to carry out that renovation work with a clearer idea of what the brand stands for.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur objective is to make people happy. There\u2019s an experiential element to that,\u201d Rolfe explains. \u201cStay in a hotel, go to the shops, sit in a caf\u00e9 \u2013 we need to root all that in who we are and what our brand is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the toilets have been redesigned with the new brand in mind, with 400 years of stories depicted on the walls, and black metal lighting to reference its forge-based fame.<\/p>\n

Branding for the new cafe<\/p>\n

Squad, which is based in Manchester and London, first turned their attention to the commercial offer, naming the new caf\u00e9, Runaways, consolidating the number of shops, and renaming and redesigning the restaurant, which is due to open early next year.<\/p>\n

Squad then repositioned Gretna Green with a new narrative \u2013 the little village on the Scottish border with a big story of love and escape to share with the world.<\/p>\n

Squad\u2019s visual identity is underpinned by the pillars of passionate love, fiery craft and Scottish hospitality embedded in four centuries of rebellious romantic history, and delivered with a contemporary spin, according to Barraclough.<\/p>\n

The positioning is not \u201csweet and sickly,\u201d he explains, adding that the presence of the Old Blacksmith\u2019s Shop \u2013 where fire would have been used to shape metal \u2013 creates a \u201cbeautiful symmetry\u201d with the notion of fiery passion.<\/p>\n

The new logo over illustration used within the branding alongside an image of the old blacksmith\u2019s shop and anvil.<\/p>\n

The identity puts a modern twist on the characteristics of a traditional village, marrying tartan and traditional shop signs with the modern revival of craft and local produce, which is sold on site.<\/p>\n

There was plenty of existing vernacular typography to draw on, like the eclectic mix of signage, some of which is hand-painted onto the many anvils around the site.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve tried to take that idiosyncratic historic feel and bring it up to date,\u201d Barraclough says. \u201cNot ruthless consistency, but a look that flexes out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Location-wise, Gretna Green is just off the M6 and already gets plenty of coach parties stopping by. The aim is to also appeal to more families in cars, so a play area is being developed, which Squad will also name and brand.<\/p>\n

The ambition is that with the repositioning, refurbishments of existing offers, and introduction of new attractions, more people will come, and they will stay longer.<\/p>\n

A wall at the new Runaways cafe
\nDetail of wall decoration at the new Runaways cafe
\nArt created to decorate the walls at Runaways, inspired by the new brand story
\nThe food counter at the new Runaways cafe with point-of-sale in the new branding<\/p>\n

\nWhat to read next: <\/strong>Bumper harvest for brand agencies as agtech booms<\/a> | Hijinks creates identity for diverse influencer talent agency<\/a> | Dog wash brand mud embraces mess and muck with reactive identity<\/a> | Tothepoint brands new scheme to boost London\u2019s biggest and most maligned borough<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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