Client Spotlight: Ackinclose & Son (aka YYJ Plumbers)

Marketing is all about removing obstacles between a product/service and somebody who wants/needs it.

When Rick and Ben approached Almostronaut, they were looking for a website. They run Ackinclose & Son, a family-owned plumbing and heating business that had earned the trust of commercial clients over the years. Now, they were hoping to attract more residential work in between their commercial contracts – especially from first-time homeowners in Victoria, BC.

They had the skills, the experience, and the personality. But the name? That was a bit of a hurdle. “Ackinclose & Son” is a name with history and heart, and being a proud family man, Rick is rightfully attached to it! But also, as we all agreed, it’s tough to read at speed, hard to remember, and difficult to spell correctly on the first try.

So we had a conversation. What if we didn’t change the name, but added something memorable and accessible alongside it?

Here’s what we proposed:

• Keep the original name, but brand forward with something catchy and locally recognizable
• Use a clean, simple domain name
• Add a little humour and whimsy to capture the attention of first-time homeowners (millennials)
• Design a van wrap that would stand out in traffic and in driveways

We explored a few directions and landed on YYJ Plumbers, a name that instantly reads “Victoria, BC” to locals, thanks to the familiar airport code.

Meet Rick & Ben (the bears, not the humans)

To bring the brand to life, we created two mascots: Rick & Ben Bear. Black bears are native to BC and well-loved around these parts, and our bears were designed to be a little offbeat… we wanted them to stand out and be different from your run-of-the-mill sports mascot or cereal box character.

They went through several rounds of design tweaks to make sure that they’d be both quirky and trustworthy. Almostronaut Devyn nailed it!

 

A van that turns heads

Once the brand identity was ready, we rolled it out across a new website, a bold new van wrap, and other matching materials. Both the site and the van were unveiled at the same time.

 

We kept going from there, adding fun lawn signs, branded door hangers, workwear, and social media templates, and more – everything Rick and Ben would need to grow their residential presence.

 

Speaking of Social Media…

Their instagram feed (available here) is a constant source of plumbing knowledge, from DIY tips to emergency triage advice. It also provided us with an excuse to dress up the Rick & Ben bear characters for special occasions throughout the year and create some fun stickers!

When Rick and Ben stopped by to pick up their stickers and catch up in person, they told me that they got a ton of business from people noticing and loving the van.

Which, of course, was the whole idea.

But it is so nice to hear it said out loud.