I have always been an extremely proud person.
Proud of who I am, where I lived, my career, etc.. so much so that I have a tattooed sleeve of my state (Maryland) on one arm and my Country on the other (Merica). I have bought T-shirts and stickers of the places I have visited and shaped me. Yorktown Tools is no different, Similar to my first business idea, “Lawn Barber” which was a combination of my last name and the industry I was getting into (refer back to the first blog for more context).
Yorktown tools is a patriotic company that has a mascot of George Washington with a saw in his hand to represent the area of Yorktown and the tool industry, the logo is the letters Y & T blended together with the American flag as the background and my slogan is “tools worth fighting for!” to nod to the historical significance of where America won its independence!” all 3 things plays on the area, my military service and the industry. It’s a slam dunk in my mind. Unlike lawn Barber, surprisingly nothing was taking, the domain name available, email addresses available, social media handles available. There are not any hoops that customers will have to jump through to find my business, no extra punctuation or special characters that others must bend to.
To go in depth into my thought process for the Yorktown Tools name, mascot, and slogan:
Name: was the easiest of the 3. I used my town’s name and industry. That’s about it! For those that have never been to York County it is a place to be proud of. Great history, great place to live between the emergency responders, community leaders, access to the Chesapeake Bay, the battle fields and it has great schools. I have never heard anyone in the community say they didn’t like the area.
Logo: George Washington was a huge part of this area. He was not only the 1st president but also in the military and played a significant role in the American Revolution. I thought his image was exactly the right character to have. This area is a part of the historical triangle of Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg. All these areas are the birth of our beautiful country, and it resonates well with the community. For those that have not been, there are reenactors, museums and battle fields that all capture their historical significance. So having George Washington in era specific attire with a concrete saw plays on the area, the industry, and the founder of Yorktown tools’ military link. True Patriotism all the way around!
Slogan: was the hardest to come up with, it was extremely hard to just say a few words that captures everything that the company is really about. Initially, I was looking at my competitors to see what they were using but after reading the book “building a story brand” by Donald Miller, I decided I needed to go from my original slogan of “build better with Yorktown tools” to “tools worth fighting for!” To break down the slogan even further: tools – is the industry, worth – shows value, fighting for – plays on the historical significance of the area. Whereas “Build better with Yorktown tools” does not connect all three items in one, nor can it stand alone when paired with the entirety of the Yorktown Tools brand. The light bulb went off after I had my eureka moment when the realization of the York County police departments vehicles were plastered in my mind. Their slogan is “where America won its independence”. I drew inspiration from this!
The logo, the slogan and the name can all stand alone and customers will know what the company does. Next topic is going to be on setting up the business.
If there is anything I can do to help you or your company please reach out.
757-940-5171