Growing pains

Arranged around Monaco’s iconic harbour are the Reds, the Blues and the Yellows. Not boats in a race but the teams of the competing superyacht businesses – the ones that manage, charter and sell the kind of luxury boats we only dream about. The Yellow team – 10-year-old Y.CO – asked for Saffron’s advice in preparing their brand for the next 10 years. They were already successful but weren’t sure how to position themselves against their much bigger and more established competitors.

Authentic experiences

We talked to clients, captains and Y.CO staff all over the world, and discovered that what made Y.CO special was that they genuinely understood what makes an authentic superyacht experience from first-hand knowledge. Pick anyone from Y.CO and they’re likely to have a real passion for yachts – developed over years from their own on-board experience either as captain or crew. Whereas do the same with the Blue team or the Red team and they’re more likely to be an accountant – even at the weekend! All of this, their clients said, gives Y.CO an ability to curate more bespoke and authentic yachting experiences – from experience – for them all over the world.

All ahead – full speed

From our insight work we developed a brand strategy, narrative and core idea for the new Y.CO brand, then helped them bring that idea to life internally and externally. We also redesigned their visual identity and messaging, projecting a new face of the brand, ready for the next 10 ten years. The work reflects Y.CO’s fresh, vibrant spirit along with their expertise. The new brand was unveiled at the Monaco Boat Show and received excellent feedback from clients and competitors alike and the business continues to go from strength to strength. You can see it in action over at Y.CO’s new website, developed by Poke and inspired by Saffron.